Osteoporosis, also known as "bone loss", is one of the most common and most expensive widespread diseases worldwide and increases the risk of suffering a bone fracture. However, the disease is often recognized late or not at all.
A research team from Kiel University, among others, wants to develop an ultrasound device that can determine bone density and structure more accurately and gently than an X-ray machine. It could thus be more versatile and identify osteoporosis more quickly and comprehensively. The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM). Among other things, the ultrasound device will provide information on the porosity or elasticity of bones. It is based on the AMBIT (Acoustical Multipath Bone Investigator) ultrasound measurement method.
The next step is to use a fully functional prototype. The ultrasound device will output the data in real time in a user-friendly way and require significantly less space than the large X-ray systems used to date. Early diagnosis should also improve the treatment of those affected with closer monitoring. Conventional audio signal processing methods are to be combined with artificial intelligence approaches to evaluate the measurement data.
