Predictions of angle dependent tortuosity and elasticity effects on sound propagation in cancellous bone

Previous work on the influence of anisotropic pore structure and elasticity in bone has been extended by developing a novel model allowing for angle dependent tortuosity and elasticity. We have found that predictions that allow tortuosity to be angle dependent but assume isotropic elasticity compare well with available data on wave speeds at large angles but less well for small angles near the normal to the trabeculae. The anisotropic novel model will be useful to give further insight into the factors that have the most important influence on the angle-dependency of wave speeds and attenuation in bone.