An adaptation model for trabecular bone at different mechanical levels.
BACKGROUND
Bone has the ability to adapt to mechanical usage or other biophysical stimuli in terms of its mass and architecture, indicating that a certain mechanism exists for monitoring mechanical usage and controlling the bone's adaptation behaviors. There are four zones describing different bone adaptation behaviors: the disuse, adaptation, overload, and pathologic overload zones. In different zones, the changes of bone mass, as calculated by the difference between the amount of bone formed and what is resorbed, should be different.


METHODS
An adaptation model for the trabecular bone at different mechanical levels was presented in this study based on a number of experimental observations and numerical algorithms in the literature. In the proposed model, the amount of bone formation and the probability of bone remodeling activation were proposed in accordance with the mechanical levels. Seven numerical simulation cases under different mechanical conditions were analyzed as examples by incorporating the adaptation model presented in this paper with the finite element method.


RESULTS
The proposed bone adaptation model describes the well-known bone adaptation behaviors in different zones. The bone mass and architecture of the bone tissue within the adaptation zone almost remained unchanged. Although the probability of osteoclastic activation is enhanced in the overload zone, the potential of osteoblasts to form bones compensate for the osteoclastic resorption, eventually strengthening the bones. In the disuse zone, the disuse-mode remodeling removes bone tissue in disuse zone.


CONCLUSIONS
The study seeks to provide better understanding of the relationships between bone morphology and the mechanical, as well as biological environments. Furthermore, this paper provides a computational model and methodology for the numerical simulation of changes of bone structural morphology that are caused by changes of mechanical and biological environments.
Gong
He
H
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, No, 1 Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.
Zhu
Dong
D
Gao
Jiazi
J
Lv
Linwei
L
Zhang
Xizheng
X
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000465:Algorithms; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015519:Bone Density; D001862:Bone Resorption; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology; D010012:Osteogenesis; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013997:Time Factors