Correlation of ultrasound velocity in the tibial cortex, calcaneal ultrasonography, and bone mineral densitometry of the spine and femur.

We compared the attributes of tibial cortex speed of sound (SOS) measurements with the SOS and broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) of the calcaneus, and bone mineral densities of the lumbar spine and femoral neck in a patient crossover study. The three instruments used in the crossover study were the LUNAR DPX and AchillesTM, and a newly introduced device for measuring tibial cortical SOS, the SoundScanTM 2000. Ultrasound precision determinations on the two instruments were performed with the same group of 10 volunteers, and the bone densitometry precision was derived from 22 patients who were assessed twice in a single visit, with repositioning between spine and hip scans. There were 220 female patients in the clinical study, 28 of whom had thoracic spine fractures, and all had measurements with the three instruments. Of the three instruments, the best precision, or lowest coefficient of variation and standardized coefficient of variation, was obtained with the SoundScanTM 2000; 0.20% and 1.39%, respectively. The tibial SOS correlated more poorly with the lumbar spine and femoral neck bone mineral densities (BMDs) than the calcaneal parameters in 220 patients. Tibial SOS measurements could not distinguish the group with spinal fracture from an age-matched control group to a P < 0.05 level, whereas the lumbar spine BMD and calcaneal BUA and stiffness showed a significant difference. We conclude that the SoundScanTM 2000 system measures propagation of sound in the tibial cortex with great precision, but its role in clinical practice is moot. Yet to be established by a long-term prospective study is its efficacy in predicting fracture risk and how well it reflects bone change in response to treatment of osteoporosis.