Chinese Journal of Magnetic Resonance ›› 2016, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (3): 468-478.doi: 10.11938/cjmr20160312

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Measuring Bone Mineral Density with NMR

LI Cheng-wei1, FAN Dong-wei2, JIANG Jia-qi1, DU Guo-hong3, WANG Wei-min1   

  1. 1. Institute of Quantum Electronics, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
    2. Shougang Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100144, China;
    3. Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
  • Received:2016-03-15 Revised:2016-07-11 Online:2016-09-05 Published:2016-09-05

Abstract:

Bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry is often used as an index for diagnosis of osteoporosis. However, ionization radiation is present in X-ray BMD measurement, and the result can be inaccurate in some caese. In this work, we constructed an NMR equipment that used a Q-switch to achieve echo time as low as 80 ms, and thus have the potential to be used for BMD measurement. In the T2 relaxation time spectra of bone measured by this equipment, the peak area at 300~500 ms was found to change linearly with the BMD measured by X-ray absorptiometry. Based on this observation, we put forward a method to measure in vitro BMD with NMR T2 relaxation time spectra. This kind of method has advantages such as high measuring speed, no ionization radiation, and high cross-period comparability.

Key words: NMR, T2 relaxation time spectrum, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, ultra-short echo time, bone mineral density

CLC Number: