Evaluation Of Bone Physical Properties Based On Photoacoustic Detection

Osteoporosis is a systemic degenerative osteoporotic disease,and its incidence is among the top five diseases of the elderly.In recent years,emerging photoacoustic imaging and detection methods can simultaneously provide physiological structure and functional information of biological tissues through non-invasive and non-radiation way,which has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of medical detection.Focused on the physical factors of bone density,bone elasticity,and trabecular thickness related to osteoporosis,we explored the feasibility of photoacoustic techniques in bone health assessment through simulation and experiment.Firstly,based on the principle of photoacoustic signal generation and propagation,the photoacoustic simulation model was established.By using the finite-difference time-domain method,the generation and propagation of photoacoustic signals in different bones were studied.Furthermore,we studied the feasibility of assessing the changes in bone density and bone strength by using photoacoustic signal in the time domain and frequency domain.Furthermore,by using the different quantization methods and quantization parameters,we explored the sensitivity of photoacoustic assessment in bone.The simulation results shown that the time domain signal fitting parameter B and peak ratio decreased with the decreasing of bone density and bone strength,while the time domain signal fitting parameter A,the slope of photoacoustic power spectrum and weighted power increased with the decreasing of bone density and bone strength.Finally,the feasibility of the above-mentioned photoacoustic quantification parameters for the evaluation of bone samples with different bone physical properties were verified.The experimental results shown that the quantization parameter 'attenuation coefficient B' of the photoacoustic signal e-index fitting and the linear fitting quantization parameter 'slope' for the photoacoustic power spectrum decreased as the bone mineral density decreased.It is consistent with the results got from numerical simulation,which indicates that these two indicators can be used for the evaluation of osteoporosis.It demonstrates that photoacoustic quantification method based on the time domain and frequency domain can be used to evaluate changes in bone elasticity and bone mineral density.In a summary,based on the simulation and experiment,our study demonstrated that the photoacoustic technology can be used for the assessment of bone health,and has the potential to provide a osteoporosis diagnosis in a non-invasive and non-radiated way.