ABOUT

Our research involves the development of ultrasonic techniques that can be used to detect changes in bone caused by osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis is a degenerative bone disease that decreases the structural integrity of bone and increases the risk of fracture.  Approximately 150 million people worldwide are at risk of osteoporotic fracture including hip fractures which are especially debilitating.  The one-year mortality associated with hip fractures caused by osteoporosis is approximately 30%.  Most individuals who suffer hip fractures never regain pre-injury status.

The Physics Laboratory for Ultrasonic Studies (PLUS) at Rhodes is pioneering new ultrasonic techniques that can be used to detect changes in bone and screen patients for osteoporosis.  Specifically, we are developing backscatter methods of ultrasonic bone assessment.  Backscatter measurements are performed by propagating ultrasonic pulses into regions of porous bone tissue called cancellous bone and then receiving the returned (backscattered) signal.  The backscatter signals are analyzed in novel ways to estimate the density and microstructural characteristics of bone.  Backscatter techniques may make it easier to perform ultrasonic measurements at clinically important skeletal locations such as the hip and spine where approximately two-thirds of osteoporotic fractures occur.  Also, it may be possible to adapt ultrasonic imaging systems already in clinical use for other purposes to perform backscatter measurements on bone.

While ultrasonic bone assessment has been the central focus of our lab for many years, we also have published research in the following areas:

• Ultrasonic characterization of the elastic properties of biologic tissues
• Ultrasonic imaging of the heart during electrical stimulation
• Ultrasonic characterization of high performance composite materials
• Ultrasonic stimulation of cartilage healing
• Theoretical and experimental modeling of electrical eddy currents produced by MRI scans

In addition, we recently launched a new collaboration with researchers at the National Center for Physical Acoustics and the University of Mississippi to investigate the ultrasonic properties of brain and scalp tissue.

RESEARCH GROUP NEWS

April 2024: Six students, Emily Bingham '26, Grace Nehring '25, Lauren Boughter '25, Thomas Conroy '25, Hugh Ferguson 25 and Kate Hazelwood '26, present their research at the 2024 Rhodes Symposium. Meeting program.

April 2024: Hugh Ferguson '27 receives a first-place award in physics for his presentation on the use of ultrasonic spectrograms and scalograms as inputs for a convolutional neural network to predict bone density at the Western Collegiate Division Meeting Tennessee Academy of Science.

December 2023: Four students, Amalia Bay '25, Grace Nehring '25, Blake Lawler '24 and Kate Hazelwood '26, present their research at Acoustics 2023 in Sydney, Australia. Read Bay Abstract. Read Nehring Abstract. Read Lawler Abstract. Read Hazelwood Abstract.

November 2023: Eight students, Amalia Bay '25, Blake Lawler '24, Grace Nehring '25, Kate Hazelwood '26, Thomas Conroy '25, Emily Bingham '26, Hugh Ferguson '27 and Lauren Boughter '25, present their research at the Tennessee Academy of Science.

November 2023: Publication in JASA on effect of transducer position on backscatter measurements of bone. Read Abstract.

November 2023: Four students present their research at the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Conference. Jessica Myat '24, Grace Nehring '25 and Emily Bingham '26 receive honorable mentions for their presentations. Award Announcement.

August 2023: Publication in Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology on ultrasonic characterization of the human scalp. Read Abstract.

April 2023: Three students present their research at the Tennessee Academy of Science Western Division Collegiate Meeting. Kate Hazelwood '26 presents a poster on backscatter measurements of a bone simulating polymer foam, Jessica Myat '24 presents a poster on the effect of follicle number density on the ultrasonic properties of scalp and Blake Lawler gives an oral presentation on the effect of transducer distance on backscatter measurements of cancellous bone. Blake receives a first-place award for best presentation in the physical sciences.

December 2022: Professor Cecille Labuda gives a presentation at the The 183rd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America on ultrasonic characterization of scalp tissue. Read Abstract. Professor Ann Viano gives a presentation at the same meeting on a new ultrasonic bone assessment technique used at the hip. Read Abstract. Professor Brent Hoffmeister gives an invited talk at the same meeting on bone assessment using ultrasonic backscatter. Read Abstract.

November 2022: Blake Lawler '24 gives a poster presentation on research investigating the effect of transducer distance on backscatter measurements of bone at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society. Read Abstract. Molly Bay '25 gives a poster presentation at the same meeting on the two-dimensional mapping of the ultrasonic properties of brain tissue. Read Abstract. Professor Cecille Labuda gives a talk on the ultrasonic properties of scalp. Read Abstract. Professor Brent Hoffmeister gives an invited talk on backscatter measurements of bone in vivo. Read Abstract.

October 2022: Publication in JASA on the frequency dependence of ultrasonic pulses reflected from cancellous bone. Read Abstract.

October 2022: Two students present their research at the Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Congress centennial meeting. Blake Lawler '24 presents a poster on ultrasonic characterization of human scalp. Shona Harbert '23 presents a poster on apparent backscatter measurements of brain.

October 2022: Two students present their research at the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Conference. Blake Lawler '24 receives honorable mention for his poster on ultrasonic characterization of human scalp. Shona Harbert '23 receives honorable mention for her poster on backscatter coefficient measurements of brain. Award Announcement.

August 2022: Publication in Ultrasonics on two-dimensional mapping of the ultrasonic properties of brain. Read Abstract.

March 2022: Publication in Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology on in vivo backscatter measurements at the femoral neck. Read Abstract.

December 2021: Professor Hoffmeister elected Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America for contributions to the understanding of ultrasound characterization of bone. Read News Story.

December 2021: Professor Hoffmeister gives a presentation at the The 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America on apparent backscatter measurements of the femoral neck in vivo. Read Abstract.

June 2021: Publication in IEEE Transactions UFFC on the dependence of backscatter parameters on the microstructure of cancellous bone. Read Article.

June 2021: Will Newman '21 gives a presentation at the 2021 Ultrasonic Imaging and Tissue Characterization Symposium on parametric imaging using an ultrasonic backscatter difference technique. Read Abstract.

June 2021: Professor Hoffmeister gives a presentation at the 2021 Ultrasonic Imaging and Tissue Characterization Symposium on measuring the ultrasonic reflection coefficient from cancellous bone. Read Abstract.

December 2020: Professor Cecille Labuda gives a presentation at the The 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America on parametric imaging of the brain with ultrasonic backscatter. Read Abstract.

December 2020: Kiera Downey '22 gives a presentation at the The 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America on ultrasonic backscatter difference measurements of the femoral neck in vivo. Read Abstract.

December 2020: Will Newman '21 gives a presentation at the The 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America on the spatial variation of attenuation and speed of sound in brain. Read Abstract.

December 2020: Sarah Delahunt '22 gives a presentation at the The 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America on ultrasonic backscatter measurements of the femoral neck in vivo. Read Abstract.

September 2020: Publication in Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology on a new time-domain backscatter technique for ultrasonic bone assessment. Read Article.

November 2019: Aubrey Gray '20 gives a presentation at the 2019 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition on a time domain analysis technique applied to ultrasonic backscatter signals from cancellous bone. Phoebe Sharp '18 is a co-author. Read Abstract.

June 2019: Professor Hoffmeister and Professor Viano give presentations at the 8th International Symposium on Ultrasonic Characterization of Bone.  Professor Hoffmeister's talk was entitled "Effect of the cortex on backscatter difference measurements of cancellous bone". Professor Viano's talk was entitled "Correlations between microstructure and apparent ultrasonic backscatter measurements of human cancellous bone". Program Overview.

May 2019: Professor Hoffmeister gives a presentation at the 177th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) on backscatter difference measurements of cancellous bone using a 1 MHz transducer. Read Abstract.

August 2018: Article in Acoustics Today: "Quantitative Ultrasound and the Management of Osteoporosis". Read Article.

June 2018: Publication in JASA on the dependence of backscatter difference parameters on the microstructure of cancellous bone. Read Article.

April 2018: Matthew Huber '18 receives a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Read News Story.

February 2018: Publication in JASA on the characterization of a polymer foam that simulates the ultrasonic properties of cancellous bone. Read Article.

December 2017: Four students attend the 174th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.  Jordan Ankersen '18 presents her research with Phoebe Sharp '18 on the time domain analysis of backscatter signals from cancellous bone. Read Abstract.  Abel Diaz '18 presents his research on the analysis of backscatter difference parameters from clinical ultrasound data from the hip. Read Abstract.

October 2017: Four students present their research at the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) 2017 Conference.  Phoebe Sharp '18 wins first place for her oral presentation and Matthew Huber '18 receives Honorable Mention for his poster presentation. Read News Story

September 2017: Phoebe Sharp '18 is selected as an invited student speaker for the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) 2017 Conference. 

August 2017: Matthew Huber '18 receives Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award from the Society of Physics Students (SPS).  Read News Story.

August 2017: Publication in JASA on signal analysis considerations involving backscatter difference measurements of bone. Read Article.

April 2017: Matthew Huber '18 is chosen as a 2017 Goldwater Scholar. Read News Story. List of 2017 Scholars.

December 2016: Professor Hoffmeister gives an invited talk at the 5^th Joint Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and the Acoustical Society of Japan (ASJ) on the relationship between backscatter difference measurements and the microstructure of cancellous bone. Read Abstract.

September 2016: Professor Hoffmeister serves as an opponent for a Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Eastern Finland. Read Dissertation.

September 2016: Two research students present at the Arkansas INBRE 2016 Conference. Matthew Huber ’18 receives best poster award for his work on characterizing the ultrasonic properties of a bone simulating material. Luke Fairbanks ’18 receives honorable mention for his invited presentation on backscatter difference measurements of bone using a 3.5 MHz transducer.

August 2016: Luke Fairbanks '18 is selected as an invited student speaker for the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) 2016 Conference. 

June 2016: Professor Hoffmeister gives a presentation at the 41^st International Symposium on Ultrasonic Imaging and Tissue Characterization on the effect of signal selection on backscatter difference measurements of bone. Read Abstract.

June 2016: Luke Fairbanks ’18 presents his work on backscatter difference measurements of bone at the 17^th Meeting of the MidSouth Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America.

April 2016: Phoebe Sharp ’18 receives a first place award at the Western Division of the Tennessee Academy of Sciences for her presentation on time domain analysis of backscatter signals from bone.

October 2015: Sheldon Ebron ’17 presents his work on measuring the ultrasonic reflection coefficient of cancellous bone at the 16^th Meeting of the MidSouth Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America.

August 2015: Publication in Ultrasonic Imaging on the use of an ultrasonic imaging system to perform backscatter difference measurements of bone. Read Article.

Learn more about Dr. Hoffmeister here.