Long cortical bone allows axial transmission of ultrasonic guided waves, which has been utilized for osteoporosis evaluation. Benefiting structural and molecular sensitivity, photoacoustic has been used for tissue composition characterization. However, photoacoustic guided waves (PAGWs) in long cortical bone as well as the influence of optical transmissivity on PAGWs have not been thoroughly investigated. In the study, the influence of optical transmissivity on the signal characteristics of PAGWs was experimentally studied with a 1064 nm pulsed laser ultrasonic system and a tunable laser system (wavelength range: 650-2600 nm). Results show that dispersion curves of PAGWs are not significantly affected by the optical transmissivity; while photoacoustic guided modes and signal spectrum are sensitive to the optical transmissivity in cortical bone. In experiments, the lasers with high transmissivity can emit pure A0 mode PAGWs at the low frequency, around 22 kHz, in the relatively thick 6.2 mm bone plate; on the contrary, both A0 and S0 modes are generated. The slope of power spectrum density (PSD) of PAGWs decreases with the increase of transmissivity, and the decline rate is around -0.229. The study proves the correlation between the signal characteristics of PAGWs and the optical transmissivity, it is helpful for the development of PAGWs in long cortical bone towards the osteoporosis evaluation.
Keywords: Broadband spectrum; Long cortical bone; Multi-wavelength laser; Optical transmissivity; Photoacoustic guided waves.
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