Simulation of Microdamage in Cancellous Bone on the Basis of Micro-computed Tomography

• Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Silke Besdo
• Subject Area: Mechanics
• Term: from 2010 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 187577760

Bone is a living tissue which is able to repair itself. Under daily loading conditions microdamage occurs. Sometimes the bone is not able to repair this kind of damage fast enough. In these cases the bones fracture. This is a well known phenomenon in osteoporotic bones of the elderly population. To get a better understanding of the development and propagation of microdamage simulations are helpful to find out the influence of different parameters. The aim of this research fellowship is to develop a finite element method using ABAQUS to simulate microdamage in cancellous bone and predict the fracture behaviour of damaged osteoporotic bone. This will base on former studies of the host institution. Therefore cancellous bone cubes of different donors will be scanned with micro-computed tomography. On the basis of the 3D reconstruction of the scans finite element meshes will be generated. Afterwards the cubes will be compressed with defined loads. In the next step the probes will be stained with lead-uranyl acetate and scanned again. The results of the simulations will be compared with the 3D reconstructions of the micro-computed tomography of the damaged cubes. Finally the results of the experiments and of the simulations will be analyzed considering the age and the sex of the donor. On the basis of such methods it is possible to describe the influence of implants on the microdamage of bones.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Deepak Vashishth