Mechanical characterization of osteoporosis based on x-ray induced acoustic computed tomography

Abstract

X-ray induced acoustic computed tomography (XACT) utilized the ultrasound generated by the thermoelastic effect to reconstruct the x-ray absorption distribution of tissues. In this Letter, we propose a method for mechanical characterization of osteoporosis based on an XACT technique. The theoretical and simulation studies were performed on the influence of elasticity effect on x-ray induced acoustic (XA) generation. The images of normal and osteoporotic bones reconstructed by the simulated XACT were found to be in good agreement with micro-CT. Furthermore, through XA signal analysis, the rise time of tissue displacement can be obtained to characterize the elasticity of bone tissues. Experimental results demonstrated that this method can provide structural and mechanical information of bone tissues, which has future potentials for assessment of bone in osteoporosis.