Determination of bone porosity by non-invasive nuclear magnetic resonance

The objective of this study is to determine bone pore size by using a new, non-invasive method, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Current techniques, such as histomorphometry, i.e., scanning electron microscopy (SEM), used for such measurements are invasive and time consuming. Thus, we are analyzing bone porosity with NMR, and validating the data with SEM analysis. The comparison show there is a high correlation between NMR and SEM porosity. The results strongly indicate that NMR is a promising method for future bone porosity characterization.