Infrared microspectroscopic analysis of bone tissue from ani­mal models and humans at equivalent anatomical locations gave great insight to the role of bone quality in determining bone strength. It became feasible to conclusively show differences in bone mineral maturity between normal and osteoporotic bone at equivalent anatomical locations. Even more revealing was the analysis of [...]

Molecular bonds are not stationary, but rather undergo motion such as twisting, bending, stretching, rotation and vibration. When irradiated with infrared radiation, these vibrational mo­tions absorb at specific wavelengths, characteristic of the over­all configuration of the atoms, and representative of specific functional groups. Moreover, through detailed analysis of the absorption wavelengths, information may be deduced [...]

Bone mineral is a poorly crystalline hydroxyapatite [Ca5(PO4)3OH] phase. Ion substitutions are abundant. For example, Na+1, and Mg+2 are substituting Ca+2 ions, HPO4-2 ions substituting the phosphate ions, Cl-1 and F-1 substituting OH-1, and CO3-2 sub­stituting for either phosphate or hydroxyl groups. Once mineral is deposited in bone by osteoblasts, it is not a static [...]

Bone Bone is a composite material, consisting mainly of mineral and collagen. In normal humans, cortical bone constitutes approxi­mately 80% of the human skeletal mass and trabecular bone approximately 20%. Bone surfaces may be undergoing forma­tion or resorption, or they may be inactive. These processes occur throughout life in both cortical and trabecular bone. Bone [...]

A substantial body of knowledge regarding the performance of QUS techniques has been gathered. To date, evidence supports the use of QUS for the assessment of fracture risk. Addi­tional clinical applications of QUS, as the assessment of rates of changes for monitoring disease progression or response to treatment, require further investigation. Moreover, QUS tech­nology has [...]

Although considerable effort has been made to characterize the relationship between QUS and BMD measurement of the same skeletal site, from a clinical point of view, the most impor­tant issue regarding QUS is its ability to predict fracture risk. There is ample evidence documenting the ability of calcaneal QUS to predict osteoporotic fracture risk both [...]

Velocity and BUA provide quantitative information on ultra­sound interaction with the medium; it is currently accepted that QUS parameters are not only influenced by bone density, but also by bone structure. Theory suggests that BUA is deter­mined by bone density and bone microarchitecture, while SOS is influenced by the elasticity of bone as well as [...]