Infrared and Raman Imaging of Bone

The development, aging, pathology, microstructure and compositional basis of the mechanical functioning of musculoskeletal tissue have been major application areas for vibrational spectroscopic imaging [16, 22]. For these applications, the 

This information provides a more complete characterization of bone development, microstructure and aging because the chemical spatial variations contribute greatly to the structural integrity and ultimate biological function of bone. 

As mentioned above, a common approach to spectroscopic imaging of musculoskeletal tissue is to use band height or area ratios, after background subtraction. 

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Chemical composition is an important contributor to bone quality, a term that encompasses the effects of architecture, composition and remodeling dynamics. An important advantage of infrared (IR) and Raman imaging in bone studies is that they allow the imaging of parameters that measure tissue quality and competence. These are usually measured as band height or band area ratios, and in some cases as band widths. Although measures of tissue properties are similar in both IR and Raman spectroscopy, the IR metrics have been validated with other techniques. 

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