An investigation into the feasibility of implementing fractal paradigms to simulate cancellous bone structure

Cancellous bone consists of a framework of solid trabeculae interspersed with bone marrow. The structure of the bone tissue framework is highly convoluted and complex, being fractal and statistically self-similar over a limited range of magnifications. To date, the structure of natural cancellous bone tissue has been defined using 2D and 3D imaging, with no facility to modify and control the structure. The potential of four computer-generated paradigms has been reviewed based upon knowledge of other fractal structures and chaotic systems, namely Diffusion Limited Aggregation (DLA), Percolation and Epidemics, Cellular Automata, and a regular Grid with randomly relocated nodes. The resulting structures were compared for their ability to create realistic structures of cancellous bone rather than reflecting growth and form processes. Although the creation of realistic computer-generated cancellous bone structures is difficult, it should not be impossible. Future work considering the combination of fractal and chaotic paradigms is underway.