Dielectric properties of bones: A potential indicator for osteoporosis

Amin, Bilal, Elahi, Muhammad Adnan, Porter, Emily, Shahzad, Atif, & O'Halloran, Martin. (2018). Dielectric properties of bones: A potential indicator for osteoporosis. Paper presented at the Bioengineering in Ireland 24, Dublin, Ireland, 26-27 January. DOI: 10.13025/9amh-9b20

Abstract

Osteoporosis is one of the major bone disease that results into bone fragility and fractures. Approximately 300,000 people over the age of 50 years suffer from osteoporosis in Ireland. Osteoporosis is mainly caused due to demineralization of bones [1]. Currently bone mineral density (BMD) is considered as a key indicator for diagnosis of osteoporosis. The BMD is widely measured by employing the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. DXA scan uses the standard X-ray doses, therefore frequent DXA scans can cause long term health risks [2]. Therefore, a portable diagnostic device that does not use ionizing radiation is required for monitoring of osteoporosis. Dielectric Properties (DP) of biological tissue characterize the interaction of electromagnetic waves with the tissues and are influenced by the composition of the tissue. Therefore, demineralisation of bone is expected to change DP of the bone. Microwave tomography imaging (MTI) can potentially measure invivo DP of the bone and can be used for osteoporosis monitoring [2]. However, this requires quantification of correlation between DP and various BMD levels. Some studies have investigated the relationship between DP and BMD of bone [2, 3]. However, these studies differ in terms of sources of bone samples, measurement frequency ranges and measurement protocols. This paper reviews these existing studies to establish correlation between DP and BMD of bones in microwave frequency range. This review will provide basis for the development of microwave-based novel diagnostic devices for the monitoring of osteoporosis.

Funder

H2020 European Research Council
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme

Publisher

National University of Ireland Galway

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland

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Collections

Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Conference Papers)