Rapid and accurate detection of bone quality using ultrasound critical angle reflectometry
AssigneeBoard of Regents, The University of Texas System
InventorsPeter P. Antich, Charles Y. C. Pak, Billy Smith, Edmond Richer, Matthew A. Lewis
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Abstract
The present invention is an apparatus, method and system for determining the coefficient of elasticity of a target by detecting determining simultaneously two or more critical-angle reflections of an ultrasound wave from the target using an ultrasound transducer that includes a transmitter and two or more receivers and calculating the elasticity coefficients of the target.
Claims29
An ultrasound apparatus comprising:
- an ultrasound transmitter;
- two or more receivers that form a receiver array wherein the receiver array and the transmitter are concentric about a line that passes through a focal point of the receiver array and the transmitter and wherein the line is perpendicular to a plane in which the receiver array and the transmitter are disposed, and wherein the receiver array is adapted to detect simultaneously the reflected ultrasound energy from both cortical and trabecular portions of a bone target;
- and
- a processor connected to the transmitter and receivers of the ultrasound apparatus, wherein the processor calculates one or more reflected spectra from each receiver and calculates from the spectra critical angles for the cortical and the trabecular portions of the bone target.
An ultrasound critical angle reflectometer comprising:
- an ultrasound transmitter;
- and
- two or more receivers that form a receiver array wherein the receiver array and the transmitter are concentric about a line that passes through a focal point of the receiver array and the transmitter and wherein the line is perpendicular to a plane in which the receiver array and the transmitter are disposed, wherein the focal point is targeted to be a bone, and wherein the receiver array is adapted to detect simultaneously the reflected ultrasound energy from a portion of the bone target at multiple angles including a normal;
- and
- a processor connected to the transmitter and receivers of the ultrasound critical angle reflectometer, wherein the processor processes one or more reflected spectra from each receiver to calculate critical angles for cortical and trabecular regions of the bone target.
A method for non-invasively, in vivo and simultaneously determining a maximum and minimum elasticity coefficients and an anisotropy of a cortical and a trabecular bone target comprising the steps of:
- measuring a critical angle from the cortical and the trabecular bone target using an ultrasound apparatus comprising:
- an ultrasound transmitter;
- two or more receivers that form a receiver array wherein the receiver array and the transmitter are concentric about a line that passes through a focal point of the receiver array and the transmitter and wherein the line is perpendicular to a plane in which the receiver array and the transmitter are disposed, and wherein the receiver array is adapted to detect simultaneously the reflected ultrasound energy from cortical and trabecular portions of a bone target;
- and
- a processor connected to the transmitter and receivers of the ultrasound apparatus, wherein the processor calculates one or more reflected spectra from each receiver and calculates from the spectra critical angles for the cortical and the trabecular portions of the bone target;
- and
- deriving the maximum and the minimum elasticity coefficients and the anisotropy of the cortical and the trabecular bone targets.
A method for non-invasively, in vivo, and simultaneously determining a maximum and minimum elasticity coefficients and an anisotropy of a cortical and a trabecular bone target comprising the steps of:
- measuring a critical angle from the cortical and the trabecular bone target using an ultrasound critical angle reflectometer comprising:
- an ultrasound transmitter;
- and
- two or more receivers that form a receiver array wherein the receiver array and the transmitter are concentric about a line that passes through a focal point of the receiver array and the transmitter and wherein the line is perpendicular to a plane in which the receiver array and the transmitter are disposed, wherein the focal point is targeted to be a bone, and wherein the receiver array is adapted to detect simultaneously the reflected ultrasound energy from a portion of the bone target at multiple angles including a normal;
- and
- a processor connected to the transmitter and receivers of the ultrasound critical angle reflectometer, wherein the processor processes one or more reflected spectra from each receiver to calculate critical angles for cortical and trabecular regions of the bone target;
- and
- deriving the maximum and the minimum elasticity coefficients and the anisotropy of the cortical and the trabecular bone targets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.