Theoretical and numerical study of a bone remodeling model: the effect of osteocyte cells distribution

It is well argued that osteocytes are mechanosensory cells and are involved in the regulation of bone remodeling. In previous works, the predictions from a simulation model have suggested that both the influencing distance of osteocytes and the magnitude of the mechanical loads determine the thickness of trabeculae whereas the number of osteocytes primarily affects the rate of bone remodeling. The question that remains not completely answered is: for the same number of osteocytes, what is the effect of different distributions on the remodeling process? Based on a particular regulatory bone remodeling model, the question is addressed, in part, by performing a stability analysis in connection with numerical simulations. The results allow us to demonstrate that, on one hand, we cannot reach a conclusion about the stability of the model for a nonuniform osteocyte distribution. This implies that there is no relationship between the different parameters conveying the stability of the model. On the other hand, we show that the osteocyte cell distribution has a significant influence on the bone morphology, which seems to be confirmed by simulations with real data obtained from rat tibia.