Assessing the Efficiency of Ultrasound Parameters in the Detection of Bone Repair Process

The low regeneration of bone in defective bones causes therapeutic problems. Various strategies to assess the healing of bone defects have been used which they include histological and histo-chemical analysis in an invasive study. The purpose of this study was to determine the ultrasonic parameters of bone as a promising noninvasive technology for assessing bone repair process. A total of twenty seven Newsland male rabbits being 4 month old were selected and a hole of 3 mm in diameter was bored in the mid region of their right tibia bone. After causing the injury to the right tibia the ultrasonic parameters including amplitude dependent speed of sound (AD-SOS) and bone radial thickness were measured on the injured tibia and the normal one (left tibia) at different time intervals (1, 8 and 15 day group). The bone transmission time (BTT) and ultrasonic bone profile index (UBPI) were estimated by AD-SOS which is calculated based on fast wave amplitude, signal dynamic and thickness. The rabbits in each group were sacrificed and histology study was performed on the injured tibia. The results obtained from the histological sections in 1, 8 and 15 day post-injury, show ongoing normal healing process in the 8 and 15 day group. The bone repair was characterized by bone trabecular formation and osteoblast cell activity. The mean AD-SOS parameter for the 1, 8, 15 day and normal bone was 2265, 2203, 2176 and 1990 m/s, respectively, suggesting a non-invasive measurement to assess bone repair process. The measured result was in agreement which the histological analysis (p-value<0.05 with ANOVA analysis). Discussion and The findings suggest that AD-SOS parameter might be suitable to assess the architectural quality of bone trabecular and repair process.