ULTRASOUND PROPAGATION IN FRACTURES WITH INTRAMEDULLARY NAILING

Studies on ultrasound (US) propagation in bone tissue have been conducted in view of its ability to stimulate the consolidation process for normal or pathological fracture. However, the action mechanisms of ultrasound, as well as its propagation modes in bone, are still not completely understood. This study evaluated the parameters Integrated Reflection Coefficient (IRC), the Frequency Slope Integrated Reflection (FSIR) and Sound Pressure Level (SPL) through a pulse-echo propagation in a phantom of cortical bone and through 2D computational simulation, including five transverse fracture gaps (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 mm) with and without the presence of an intramedullary nailing (IN). The results showed a correlation between IRC and SPL and these with the size of the fracture and the echoes of the evaluated interfaces, while FSIR helped to identify the presence of IN in combination with other parameters. The simulations followed the trend of the experimental results. It was concluded that the evaluated parameters contributed to the mechanical characterization of the phantom bone conditions evaluated, and points to the achievement of future experiments that include other frequency of ultrasound for analysis of backscatter.