Optical verification of a technique for in situ ultrasonic measurement of articular cartilage thickness |
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| Authors: | V E Modest M C Murphy R W Mann |
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| Institution: | Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139. |
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| Abstract: | Several investigators have used pulse-echo ultrasonics to measure the thickness of articular cartilage in situ. The underlying assumption in all measurements was that the second reflection used in thickness calculations was from the calcified-cartilage/cartilage boundary (tidemark). To investigate this assumption, the thickness of 24 cartilage plugs excised from a human femoral head was measured both ultrasonically and optically. Measurements established that the second reflection was from the tidemark and validated the ultrasonic technique as a method of mapping the thickness distribution of articular cartilage in synovial joints in situ. |
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