Patent · US Expired

Plain x-ray bone densitometry apparatus and method

US5917877A · kind A · utility

57Cited by
16References
4Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 5, 1997
Grant dateJun 29, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 5, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N2223/419
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Non-invasive quantitative plain radiographic evaluation of bone in a bony locale of a body is performed by subjecting the bony locale to a broadband collimated x-ray beam having energy in the range of about 20 keV to 150 keV. Alongside the bony locale is a multiple-material phantom containing at least two distinct materials. An energy-selective multiple-film detector cassette containing at least two films is placed under the body and multiple-material phantom to receive the transmitted x-ray beam. The films in the cassette are developed and digitally scanned to produce sets of multiple-material phantom data and sets of bone data. The data sets are then processed with a nonlinear algorithm whereby to generate the indicated estimate of bone status, namely, bone-mineral density.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.