Patent ID: 8317710

Claim:
A bone inspection system comprising: a lower leg support device for supporting a lower leg of an examined person; a load applying mechanism for applying a load to a bone of the supported lower leg, wherein the load applying mechanism includes a rocking lever and a weight that performs a reciprocating movement along the lever, wherein the load applying mechanism applies periodically-varying load using the reciprocating movement of the weight; and an ultrasonic unit that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from the lower leg bone and carries out a measurement based on a received ultrasonic signal, wherein a deformation in the bone caused by the load is measured using the ultrasonic unit, wherein the lower leg support device comprises: a main base; a pivoting base that is pivotably supported with respect to the main base; and a proximal support member and a distal support member that are provided commonly on the pivoting base and individually support a proximal portion and a distal portion of the lower leg, respectively, and wherein an axis of pivot of the pivoting base is located at a position corresponding to the proximal portion of the lower leg, and the pivoting action causes the distal portion to be raised and lowered.