Relationships among calcaneal backscatter, attenuation, sound speed, hip bone mineral density, and age in normal adult women

The present study was undertaken in order to investigate the use of calcane al ultrasonic backscatter for the application of diagnosis of osteoporosis. Broadband ultrasonic attenuation (BUA), speed of sound (SOS), the average backscatter coefficient (ABC), and the hip bone mineral density (BMD) were measured in calcanea in 47 women (average age: 58 years, standard deviation : 13 years). All three ultrasound variables had comparable correlations wit h hip BMD (around 0.5). As reported previously by others, BUA and SOS were rather highly correlated with each other. The logarithm of the ABC was only moderately correlated with the other two. The three ultrasound parameters exhibited similar moderate negative correlations with age. These results ta ken collectively suggest that the ABC may carry important diagnostic inform ation independent of that contained in BUA and SOS and, therefore, may be u seful as an adjunct measurement in the diagnosis of osteoporosis.