Bone Fracture Detection Utilizing Sound Frequency With A Tuning Fork And Ultrasound Machine

Long bone fractures are one of the most prevalent categories of traumatic injuries seen in emergency rooms. While advanced medical instruments are used to confirm diagnosis of bone fractures, they are cost prohibitive, not readily available, and not easily accessible for patients. Therefore, further research is necessary to examine alternative methods of diagnosing fractures. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of sound waves to travel across unfractured and fractured bone to determine the presence of bone fractures. METHODS: This study utilized blocks of ebony wood that are consistent with the size and density of an adult tibia bone. Sound wave frequencies were determined through a 128-Hz Tuning Fork, Solaris Ultrasound (US) Machine, and an iPhone 13 Pro with LARSA Analyzer Application. Data from 64 trials were analyzed using SPSS, and dependent t-tests were conducted to determine statistically significant differences between the unfractured and fractured wood. Thirty-two initial trials were conducted using a tuning fork, with 16 trials each on unfractured ebony wood and fractured ebony wood. Thirty-two additional trials were conducted using US, 16 on unfractured wood and 16 on fractured wood. Sixty additional trials were then conducted using US (30 fractured, 30 unfractured). RESULTS: The trials utilizing a tuning fork on the intact wood resulted in frequencies ranging from 196 to 197 Hz and those on the fractured wood ranged from 193 to 194 Hz. Trials utilizing ultrasound on the intact wood resulted in a majority ranging from 20 to 27.50 Hz while the trials conducted on the fractured wood resulted in a majority ranging from 20 to 23.33 Hz. Both instruments reflected an overall decrease in frequency when tested on fractured wood compared to intact wood. There was a significant difference with the ultrasound machine between fractured and unfractured wood (p < 0.004). There was no significant difference in frequency for the tuning fork between fractured and unfractured pieces of wood. CONCLUSION: Data suggests that a tuning fork is not a viable tool for detecting fractures. However, the decrease in frequency from the intact ebony wood to the fractured ebony wood suggests a US machine may be a viable tool for detecting fractures in conjunction with the LARSA Analyzer application on the iPhone 13 Pro.