Pages 131-132
The quantitative estimation of articular cartilage is needed by orthopeadic clincians to make comparative study of various treatments for joint damage. We have proposed the ultrasonic method using wavelet transform. Clinical and animal studies showed that the proposed method was effective for the cartilage estimation. The aim of this report was to investigate morphological effects of cartilage, for example the curvature or angle between cartilage and subchondral bone. The numerical analysis is adapted for the study, because various models that are not obtained from clinical or animal study can be considered. The ultrasonic echo from subchondral bone was founded to consist of two echoes. This suggests that the duration time of the echo from subchondral bone relates to the thickness of subchondral bone. Using numerical and experimental study, much information may be obtained from ultrasonic echo.
