Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the optical absorbance spectrum of bone tissue in the near-infrared region for the development of bone densitometry using near-infrared light. Using bone samples from a bovine femur, optical absorbance spectrums were measured between 750∼2500 nm. With high bone density, the absorbance increased beyond 1400 nm. To predict bone density from the spectrum data, pairs of wavelengths with absorbance ratios or differences having a high correlation coefficient (r>0.99) with bone density were identified. One of the best results was shown by a pair of 1200 nm and 1550 nm with coefficients(r) of 0.994 and 0.996 for absorbance ratio and difference, respectively. Even in thedensity range of the trabecular bone, the coefficients were 0.892 and 0.881 for absorbance ratio and difference, respectively. The results suggest the possibility applying near-infrared spectroscopy to bone densitometry.
