Abstract

We report on the recovery of relevant biological parameters of bone from time-resolved transmittance spectroscopy (TRS) measurements on finite samples. The validity of the diffuse light propagation models for small volumes (~1 cm³) was tested by Monte Carlo simulations and TRS measurements (700–1050 nm) on phantoms. Bone tissue composition was derived from the absorption spectra of ex vivo bone samples. A significant correlation was found between the optical properties of bone (710 nm) and its biological properties, in which mineral density is independent of bone volume fraction. The reported results are a step towards the optical diagnosis of osteoporosis and make TRS promising for the non-invasive evaluation of bone architecture.

© 2008 Optical Society of America