A new form of ultrasound that assesses multiple parameters of hard tissue like bone may lead to early prediction of bone loss, a hallmark of osteoporosis, a disease affecting millions of Americans. Houston’s National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) scientists are developing the technology to assist astronauts during long-duration space flights.  Like the elderly on earth, astronauts in space suffer bone loss structure and quality. Weightlessness during space flight results in astronauts experiencing bone loss at a rate of 1.0-1.6% per month.

Stress-related fractures are a major concern for astronauts during long missions to the moon or in space. The fracture rate could be high on the moon due to workload force, heavy spacesuits and gravity that is one-sixth that of earth’s gravity. Testing the technology under these circumstances in space will be beneficial to those with bone loss, osteoporosis or other bone disorders because of their added risk of fracture.

Dr. Qin, associate team leader for NSBRI’s Smart Medical Systems and Technology Team, calls the new technology Scanning Confocal Acoustic Navigation (SCAN). This technology is more advanced than existing ultrasound technology because SCAN assesses bone parameters beyond mineral density, namely bone qualities such as strength, structure and stiffness. The team expects to develop a small, mobile SCAN device that would be easy for patients to use.

“SCAN uses non-invasive and non-destructive ultrasound to image bone, and the technology enables us to identify weak regions, as well as make a diagnosis and to assist in healing fractures,” says Dr. Qin. “Because with SCAN we can assess bone qualities, such as stiffness, we can predict the risk of fracture, as quality of bone rather than density is more of a predictor of fracture risk.”

He is currently conducting clinical evaluations of the diagnostic component of SCAN. He uses a mobile ultrasound device that runs off a laptop computer that can image or heal a wrist in about five minutes to assess multiple parameters of bone. Also under development is the capability to scan the knee and hip.

The team is also developing the therapeutic portion of the technology. The goal is to create a device that effectively accelerates fracture healing by stimulating bone regeneration. Ultrasound has been used to heal fractures with better accuracy and effectiveness at the fracture site than the current technology.

“We are trying to use ultrasound technology as a way to get an image of the fracture site. An integrated probe will directly shoot ultrasound into the region of the fracture. We hope this will result in effective acceleration of fracture healing.”

According to the researchers, SCAN technology is potentially an ideal tool for health care providers on earth who care for an increasing elderly population. In addition, the device in development would have much more capabilities and be smaller, easier, and cheaper to use than current X-ray based bone density measurement machines.
References:
1. Yi-Xian Qin, et al. Stony Brook University.
2. Iwamoto J, Takeda T, Sato Y. Interventions to prevent bone loss in astronauts during space flight. Keio J Med. 2005 Jun;54(2):55-9. PMID: 16077253.
3. Image from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.