... to mechanical and biological factors, and those changes in bone mineral density have been determined in long-term densitometry studies. This technique has proved to be a useful tool able to quantify small changes in bone density in different femoral areas, and it is considered to be ideal for long-term studies...

...; revision received August 20, 2003. Associate Editor: L. A. Setton. 04 May 2002 20 August 2003 09 03 2004 bone bioacoustics densitometry Raman spectroscopy orthopaedics biomedical materials biomechanics vibrations damping calcium compounds Q-factor acoustic measurement...