A NOVEL ULTRASOUND METHODOLOGY FOR ESTIMATING SPINE MINERAL DENSITY

作者：Conversano Francesco; Franchini Roberto; Greco Antonio; Soloperto Giulia; Chiriaco Fernanda; Casciaro Ernesto; Aventaggiato Matteo; Renna Maria Daniela; Pisani Paola; Di Paola Marco; Grimaldi Antonella; Quarta Laura; Quarta Eugenio; Muratore Maurizio; Laugier Pascal; Casciaro Sergio^*

来源：Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 2015, 41(1): 281-300.

DOI：10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.08.017

• Osteoporosis diagnosis
• Quantitative ultrasound
• Bone mineral density measurement
• Lumbar spine
• Bone densitometry
• Radiofrequency signal analysis

We investigated the possible clinical feasibility and accuracy of an innovative ultrasound (US) method for diagnosis of osteoporosis of the spine. A total of 342 female patients (aged 51-60 y) underwent spinal dual X-ray absorptiometry and abdominal echographic scanning of the lumbar spine. Recruited patients were subdivided into a reference database used for US spectral model construction and a study population for repeatability and accuracy evaluation. US images and radiofrequency signals were analyzed via a new fully automatic algorithm that performed a series of spectral and statistical analyses, providing a novel diagnostic parameter called the osteoporosis score (O.S.). If dual X-ray absorptiometry is assumed to be the gold standard reference, the accuracy of O.S.-based diagnoses was 91.1%, with k = 0.859 (p < 0.0001). Significant correlations were also found between O.S.-estimated bone mineral densities and corresponding dual X-ray absorptiometry values, with r(2) values up to 0.73 and a root mean square error of 6.3%-9.3%. The results obtained suggest that the proposed method has the potential for future routine application in US-based diagnosis of osteoporosis.

• 出版日期2015-1