Figure: Experimental setup for measurement of bone and phantom samples with movable ultrasound transducers (picture: Alexander Teplyuk)

Thrilled to share innovative developments in healthcare, where AI meets ultrasound for early osteoporosis diagnosis. Traditional methods of osteoporosis detection often involve X-rays, but AI-infused ultrasound takes it a step further. This non-invasive technique not only identifies bone density issues but can also provide detailed insights into bone structure, offering quick initial assessments of a patient’s skeletal health.

About 1 million people in Germany fall ill to osteoporosis each year. It is estimated that 1 out of 4 women and 1 out of 17 men above the age of 50 suffers from the disease. Treatment is available, but the disease is often not diagnosed and treated in time. To diagnose Osteoporosis, the common procedure is using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry, requiring a radiologist to get involved in the process (source: Osteoporose.de ).

In collaboration with the Molecular Imaging North Competence Center (MOIN CC)  at Kiel University (CAU)  and sonoware GmbH , project AMBIT has successfully demonstrated osteoporosis pattern detection in bone structure using ultrasound measurements in the Tibia. The promising results are motivating us strongly to continue our collaborative research.

Within the consortium sonoware is acting as AI software partner.

This project has been funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)  as part of the ZIM programme .

For more info about the project, please see the press release of Kiel University  (in German language only) or the article by NDR at archive.org  (in German language only).