Microwave tomography for bone imaging

Osteoporosis is a major health problem affecting roughly 55% of the U.S. population 50 years of age or older. Current methods to detect osteoporosis or assess bone fracture risk involve a bone mineral density (BMD) exam generally using x-ray techniques - primarily dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). While this technique provides a measure of the bone mass, it does not offer any insight into bone quality, structure or biology which are regarded as important components of bone health. Microwave tomography for bone imaging consists of recovering bone dielectric properties, which have been shown to have strong correlations with clinically important mechanical properties of bone. In this paper we present some preliminary results from a simulation experiment along with some patient data.