Simultaneous estimation of cortical bone thickness and acoustic wave velocity using a multivariable optimization approach: Bone phantom and in-vitro study

The method was tested using acoustic data obtained at the frequency of 0.6 MHz and 1 MHz respectively for a custom designed bone mimicking phantom and a calf femur. For the cortical shell of the calf femur whose thickness varies from 2.1 mm to 2.4 mm and velocity of 2910 m/s, the relative errors of the thickness estimation ranged from 0.4% to 5.5%. The corresponding error of the acoustic wave velocity estimation in the layer was 3.1%. In the case of artificial bone the thickness of the cortical layer was equal to 1.05 and 1.2 mm and acoustic wave velocity was 2900 m/s. These parameters were determined with the errors ranging from 1.9% to 10.8% and from 3.9% to 4.5% respectively.