Intensity histogram of B-Mode ultrasound for the quantification of bone healing process

Ultrasound provides a promising non-invasive, safe, objective means of monitoring and quantifying the bone healing process. In this paper, the relationship between the image intensity of a B-Mode ultrasound and the acoustic impedance was exploited to develop a quantitative measure towards assessment and monitoring of the bone healing process. The quantification process exploits information theoretic a criterion utilizing the intensity histogram of the bone and callus regions obtained from the ultrasound image. Results were obtained from standard non biological materials as well as a pilot experimental study on human subjects is reported. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of monitoring and quantifying the degree of bone healing process.