Low angle X-ray scattering for bone analysis

The overlap between the bone density values of healthy and osteoporotic groups has indicated the need for further information on the nature of bone tissue. A study of low angle scatter in bone and bone substitutes has been made in order to identify any additional information it might provide. The results indicate that the individual components in a bone tissue substitute can be identified and a comparison of the two measurement techniques presented in the work favours the energy distribution method due to it being more sensitive to changes in the quantity of bone mineral present. The results indicate that the usefulness of the method could lie in its ability to focus on a particular region of trabecular bone and to separate the response of the marrow tissue from that of the bone tissue, such that information on the actual trabeculae can be obtained.