An alternative ultrasonic method for measuring the elastic properties of cortical bone.

We studied the elastic properties of bone to analyze its mechanical behavior. The basic principles of ultrasonic methods are now well established for varying isotropic media, particularly in the field of biomedical engineering. However, little progress has been made in its application to anisotropic materials. This is largely due to the complex nature of wave propagation in these media. In the present study, the theory of elastic waves is essential because it relates the elastic moduli of a material to the velocity of propagation of these waves along arbitrary directions in a solid. Transducers are generally placed in contact with the samples which are often cubes with parallel faces that are difficult to prepare. The ultrasonic method used here is original, a rough preparation of the bone is sufficient and the sample is rotated. Moreover, to analyze heterogeneity of the structure we measure velocities in different points on the sample. The aim of the present study was to determine in vitro the anisotropic elastic properties of cortical bones. For this purpose, our method allowed measurement of longitudinal and transverse velocities (C(L) and C(T)) in longitudinal (fiber direction) and the radial directions (orthogonal to the fiber direction) of compact bones. Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio nu, were then deduced from the velocities measured considering the compact bone as transversely isotropic or orthotropic. The results are in line with those of other methods.