Discrimination of fractured from non-fractured post-menopausal women using guided wave-based ultrasound: A pilot clinical study

Structural decay of bone is not fully assessed by current X-ray methods, and there is an unmet need in identifying women at risk of fracture who should receive a treatment. The last decade has seen the emergence of ultrasound (US) axial transmission (AT) techniques to assess cortical bone. Recent AT techniques exploit the multimode waveguide response of long bones such as the radius. Guided wave (GW)-based approaches are expected to provide estimates of bone strength-related factors, such as cortical thickness and porosity, which cannot easily be captured by X-ray densitometry techniques. The objective of this cross sectional study is to evaluate if a new GW-based prototype device can discriminate between non- traumatic-fractured and non-fractured postmenopausal women.