Dual wavelengths inverse spatially offset Raman spectroscopy for bone characterization

Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones increasing the possibility of bone fracture. The gold standard to diagnose osteoporosis is measuring bone mineral density (BMD). Since BMD only partly determines the strength of the bone, more information on chemical composition and microstructure is needed. Here, we implemented a novel dual-wavelength inverse Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) to characterize tissue chemical composition covering both the fingerprint and high-wavenumber regions. This system provides a greater probing depth keeping the spectrometer setting constant. The results from hydroxyapatite (HA) and water phantom demonstrate the potential of the Raman system to assess bone mineral and matrix quality in-vivo.