title: Ultrasound transmission measurements through the os calcis.
abstract: A method of measuring ultrasonic propagation in the os calcis was devised for assessing bone properties in humans. Speed-of-sound (SOS) and broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) were measured using broadband acoustic pulses transmitted and received by a pair of focused transducers. The transducers are mounted coaxially in a water tank with the subject's heel in between. Reproducibility of results in an adult male was 10% for the BUA and 1.2% for the SOS. Both SOS and BUA changed when the transmission path through the os calcis was varied. For a population of normal male subjects, SOS and BUA were correlated with densitometry results on the os calcis, but less well correlated to area density at remote sites.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin, Department of Medical Physics, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zagzebski
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Rossman
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mesina
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Mazess
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Madsen
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D015519:Bone Density; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002111:Calcaneus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014159:Transducers; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*