High-resolution bone microstructure imaging based on ultrasonic frequency-domain full-waveform inversion

The main challenge in bone ultrasound imaging is the large acoustic impedance contrast and sound velocity differences between the bone and surrounding soft tissue. It is difficult for conventional pulse-echo modalities to give accurate ultrasound images for irregular bone boundaries and microstructures using uniform sound velocity assumption rather than getting a prior knowledge of sound speed. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposed a frequency-domain fullwaveform inversion(FDFWI) algorithm for bone quantitative imaging utilizing ultrasonic computed tomography(USCT).The forward model was calculated in the frequency domain by solving the full-wave equation. The inverse problem was solved iteratively from low to high discrete frequency components via minimizing a cost function between the modeled and measured data. A quasi-Newton method called the limited-memory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno algorithm(L-BFGS) was utilized in the optimization process. Then, bone images were obtained based on the estimation of the velocity and density. The performance of the proposed method was verified by numerical examples, from tubular bone phantom to single distal fibula model, and finally with a distal tibia-fibula pair model. Compared with the high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography(HR-p QCT), the proposed FDFWI can also clearly and accurately presented the wavelength scaled pores and trabeculae in bone images. The results proved that the FDFWI is capable of reconstructing high-resolution ultrasound bone images with sub-millimeter resolution. The parametric bone images may have the potential for the diagnosis of bone disease.

Time Course of Changes in Trabecular Bone Microstructure in Rats with Spinal Cord Injury

The study aimed to examine changes in trabecular bone microstructure （TBMS） during the period of 5 weeks after the injury in a rat model of spinal cord injury （SCI）. Eight-week-old male Wistar rats underwent surgical transection of the lower thoracic spinal cord （SCI, n = 16） or sham operation （SHAM, n = 14）. TBMS （tissue volume, bone volume, bone volume fraction, trabecular thickness, width, number, separation, connectivity density, and trabecular bone pattern factor）, assessed using a micro-computed tomography, was deteriorated 1, 3 and 5 weeks after SCI. In addition, both bone mass and serum biochemical parameters were determined. Dry bone weight, ash weight, bone mineral content （BMC）, and BMC/tissue-volume were significantly lower in the SCI group than in the SHAM group throughout the experimental period. Serum inorganic phosphate and alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly lower in the SCI group than in the SHAM group 1 week after the surgery. SCI resulted in rapid deterioration of both bone mass and microstructure. These changes appeared as early as 1 week after SCI. Based on the authors＇ results, it should be noted that in SCI patients, interventions for preventing bone loss should start as soon as possible after the injury.

The morphology and histology of a juvenile Sinokannemeyeria from the Middle Triassic Ermaying Formation of Shanxi, North China

Kannemeyeriiformes were dominated tetrapods in the Middle Triassic terrestrial faunae of China.Although abundant materials of Sinokannemeyeria have been collected, their postcranial morphology information is not well studied, especially the juveniles. This paper presents a description of an articulated Sinokannemeyeria skeleton from the Middle Triassic Ermaying Formation and reports the histological microstructure of its femur. This specimen represents a late-stage juvenile based on the histological information. For the first time, this specimen offers insights into the postcrania information of juvenile Sinokannemeyeria.

Estimating mean trabecular bone spacing based on the combination of Hilbert transform and fundamental frequency estimation

Ultrasonic backscatter signals from cancellous bone are sensitive to the microstructure of trabecular bone,and thus enable the feasibility to extract microstructural information of trabecular bone.The mean trabecular bone spacing(MTBS)is an important parameter for characterizing bone microstructure.This paper proposes an MTBS estimation method based on the combination of Hilbert transform and fundamental frequency estimation(CHF). The CHF was verified with ultrasonic backscatter signals from simulations and in vitro measurements at a central frequency of 5MHz.The CHF method was compared with the simplified inverse filter tracking(SIFT)method,Simons' Quadratic Transformation(QT)method,Singular Spectrum Analysis(SSA)method,and Spectral Autocorrelation(SAC)method.Monte-Carlo simulations were performed by varying the MTBS,signal-to-noise ratio(SNR),standard deviation of regular spacing(SDRS),amplitude ratio of diffuse scattering to regular scattering(Ad)and frequency dependent attenuation(nBUA).The simulation results showed that the CHF method had a better performance in MTBS estimation under almost all the examination conditions except for SNR.The estimation percentage correct(EPC)was greater than 90% when the MTBS was in the range of 0.4to 1.4mm.In the in vitro measurements,the estimated EPC by the CHF method was91.25±7.81%(mean±standard deviation).A significant correlation was observed for the CHF-estimated MTBS and micro-computed tomography(μ-CT)-measured values(R^2=0.75,p<0.01).These results demonstrate that the CHF method is anti-interference for MTBS estimation and can be used to estimate trabecular bone spacing.