Korean J Oral Maxillofac Radiol.  2007 Mar;37(1):53-59.

Analysis on correlation between bone strength by FEA, micro-CT parameters and bone mineral density

• Yoon YN
• Lee W
• Lee BD

Abstract

PURPOSE: Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone microarchitecture are important determinants for bone strength. Recently micro-CT have provided possibilities for measuring a variety of structural indices to characterize bone microarchitecture. The objective of this study was to compare the BMD and micro-CT parameters with Young's modulus calculated by finite element analysis (FEA) for the evaluation of bone strength.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Bone specimens were obtained from the 18 female rabbits aged 16 weeks. Of those, 36 samples (right and left femur) were selected for 3D micro-CT analysis (ANTTM, SKYSCAN, Belgium) and BMD by PIXImus 2 (GE Lunar Co. USA). Five microstructural parameters of micro-CT, such as trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), bone specific surface (BS/BV), percent bone volume (BV/TV), structure model index (SMI) and degree of anisotropy (DOA) were studied. Young's modulus was obtained by software program (ANSYS 9.0, ANSYS Inc, Canonsburg, PA) based on micro-CT three dimensional images.
RESULTS
Young's modulus assessed by FEA correlated significantly with Tb.Th, BV/TV, BS/BV and SMI respectively. Young's modulus showed higher correlation with these microstructural parameters of micro-CT than BMD. Microstructural parameters except DOA showed significant correlations within the examined group.
CONCLUSION
The microarchitectural parameters of micro-CT and BMD represented some informations in the evaluation of bone strength assessed by FEA.

Keyword

Computed Tomography; Bone; Finite Element Analysis

MeSH Terms

Anisotropy
Bone Density*
Elastic Modulus
Female
Finite Element Analysis
Humans
Rabbits