Towards the in vivo prediction of fragility fractures with Raman spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: Fragility fractures, those fractures which result from low level trauma, have a large and growing socio-economic cost in countries with aging populations. Bone-density-based assessment techniques are vital for identifying populations that are at higher risk of fracture, but do not have high sensitivity when it comes to identifying individuals who will go on to have their first fragility fracture. We are developing Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) as a tool for retrieving chemical information from bone non-invasively in vivo. Unlike X-ray-based techniques SORS can retrieve chemical information from both the mineral and protein phases of the bone. This may enable better discrimination between those who will or will not go on to have a fragility fracture because both phases c

SUBMITTER: Buckley K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4976623 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature