NSF-CGP Fellowship: Scanning Acoustic Microscopy Studies of Micromechanical Properties of Osteoporotic Bone

9602492 KATZ该奖项支持凯斯西储大学生物医学工程系的J.Lawrence Katz博士和日本仙台东北大学电子工程系的Noriyoshi Chubachi教授之间的美日合作研究。卡茨博士将在东北大学呆上六个月，对骨质疏松骨骼的微观力学特性进行扫描声学显微镜研究。研究人员将研究超声波技术，在活体中测量特定骨骼的声速和/或衰减，以评估“骨骼质量”的水平，以便开发更有效的骨质疏松筛查技术，并提供骨骼何时可能面临骨折风险的指示。这项技术比双能X射线吸收测量法(DEXA)更有优势，后者提供的是关于骨的材料属性的信息，如硬度和刚性，而不是骨密度。通过建立弹性特性和骨骼强度之间的相关性，就有可能开发出骨折风险指数，该指数可以成为早期干预预防骨折发生的医疗程序的基础。这位美国研究人员将他对骨组织结构、功能和特性之间的科学关系的知识带到了这次合作中。最近，他参与了由于骨质疏松症的发作而经历材料变化(丢失)的骨组织的形式功能关系的研究。这与日本研究人员在高频扫描声学显微镜(SAM)领域用于骨微观力学研究的专业知识相辅相成。他的实验室配备了最先进的SAM，可以进行非常高分辨率的工作。该项目预计将对患有或易患严重骨质疏松症的大量妇女、长期卧床休息的人和处于微重力环境中的宇航员产生更大的骨折风险预测。两位研究人员都表示，他们希望在六个月的访问结束后继续研究他们的项目。

9602492 Katz This award supports U.S.-Japan collaborative research between Dr. J. Lawrence Katz of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University and Professor Noriyoshi Chubachi in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. Dr. Katz will be spending six months at Tohoku University undertaking scanning acoustic microscopy studies of micromechanical properties of osteoporotic bone. The researchers will research ultrasound techniques which measure sound velocity and/or attenuation through specific bones, in vivo, to assess the level of "bone quality" in order to develop more effective screening techniques for osteoporosis as well as providing an indication of when bone might be at risk of fracture. This technique provides an advantage over dual energy x-ray absorptionmetry (DEXA) which provides information about the material properties of bone, such as stiffness and rigidity, rather than bone density. By developing correlations between elastic properties and bone strength, it then would be possible to develop a fracture risk index which could become the basis for early intervention of medical procedures to prevent the occurrence of fractures. The U.S. researcher brings to this collaboration his knowledge of the scientific relationships between structure, function and properties of bone tissues. More recently he has been involved in research into the form function relationships in bone tissues undergoing material changes (losses) due to the onset of osteoporosis. This is complemented by expertise of the Japanese researcher in the area of high frequency scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) for bone micromechanic studies. His laboratory is equipped with a state-of-the-art SAM for work at very high resolution. The project is expected to result in greater prediction of fracture risk to the large number of women, people in long term bed rest, and astronauts in the microgravity environment o f space who have, or are prone to, the serious condition of osteoporosis. Both researchers have expressed their expectation to continue research on their project after the conclusion of the six month visit.