A method for fracture toughness measurement in trabecular bone using computed tomography, image correlation and...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Osteoporosis and other diseases compromise load-bearing trabecular bone strength.
• Accurate measurement of trabecular bone fracture toughness is limited due to specimen size and material porosity.
• Understanding fracture resistance is vital for developing effective osteoporosis treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel, reliable method for measuring 3D fracture toughness of trabecular bone.
• To overcome limitations of current testing methods for porous bone specimens.
• To enable objective identification of crack propagation criteria.

Main Methods:

• Utilized digital volume correlation (DVC) on X-ray computed tomographs to capture 3D displacement fields.
• Employed phase congruency analysis for objective identification of crack shape and size.
• Integrated finite element (FE) simulations with elastic properties to derive fracture toughness.

Main Results:

• Successfully demonstrated a new approach for quantifying 3D displacement fields in trabecular bone.
• Enabled objective and precise identification of crack characteristics within bone specimens.
• Provided a pathway to derive fracture toughness criteria from experimental data and simulations.

Conclusions:

• The developed DVC and phase congruency method offers a reliable technique for assessing trabecular bone fracture toughness.
• This approach addresses the challenges associated with testing small, porous bone samples.
• Findings contribute to a better understanding of bone fragility in diseases like osteoporosis.