Propagation of torsional waves in tubular bones

By considering the material inhomogeneity and anisotropy of osseous tissues, the propagation of torsional waves in tubular bones has been studied in this paper. An exact closed form solution is presented. The electric and magnetic fields induced by the travelling torsional waves in tubular bones are also derived by accounting for the piezoelectricity of osseous material. Making use of the derived analytical solution, and the experimentally determined constants for osseous tissues, numerical values of the phase velocities and attenuation coefficients are calculated for different frequencies in the ultrasonic range. Further, the effects of material damping and inhomogeneity on the attenuation and phase velocities of the waves are examined.