A novel method for bone fatigue monitoring and prediction

Bone fatigue, often manifest as stress fractures, is a common injury that plagues many individuals, adversely affect quality of life, and is an obstacle to extended human spaceflight. This manuscript details a pilot study that was conducted to determine if the Phase Space Warping (PSW) methodology could be used to monitor/predict fatigue failure in bone tissue. A Moon's beam experimental apparatus was used to perform variable amplitude fatigue tests on bovine bone specimens. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the fracture surface and identify the fracture type. The PSW method allowed for successful identification of the various damage modes and may lead to the development of a viable tool for predicting the health and fatigue life of bone.