Pilot study on the Non-Invasive Detectability of Femoral Neck Fractures with Frequency Response Functions

A suspicion of a femoral neck fracture is a frequently recurring situation, especially in nursing homes. For the clarification of such a suspicion normally imaging techniques are used. Such equipment is expensive and therefore is located in hospitals. In addition to the costs, a transport causes stress for the patient. This pilot study is devoted to the question whether the detection of a femoral neck fracture with vibration measurements is possible in principal. In such a case, the clarification could be done on-site by an ordinary person using much cheaper equipment. This would reduce the stress for the patient and save money. For this purpose vibration measurements on a dead body with intact, with partially fractured and with complete cut femoral neck have been performed. Two different methods for the vibration initiation have been investigated, the so called impact testing and the shaker testing. The frequency response function has been determined for all combinations on both sides of the body. It turned out that there is a clear difference in the frequency response functions of the fractured bone with respect to the intact bone when shaker testing is used. This indicates that the method could have the potential to be a cost-saving alternative to imaging techniques. However, in a next step a statistically reliable clinical survey on living persons needs to be done.