Slow and fast ultrasonic wave detection improvement in human trabecular bones using Golay code modulation

The identification of fast and slow waves propagating through trabecular bone is a challenging task due to temporal wave overlap combined with the high attenuation of the fast wave in the presence of noise. However, it can provide valuable information about bone integrity and become a means for monitoring osteoporosis. The objective of this work is to apply different coded excitation methods for this purpose. The results for single-sine cycle pulse, Golay code, and chirp excitations are compared. It is shown that Golay code is superior to the other techniques due to its signal enhancement while exhibiting excellent resolution without the ambiguity of sidelobes.