title: Numerical simulation of ultrasonic wave propagation for the evaluation of dental implant biomechanical stability.
abstract: Osseointegration of dental implants remains poorly understood. The objective of this numerical study is to understand the propagation phenomena of ultrasonic waves in prototypes cylindrically shaped implants and to investigate the sensitivity of their ultrasonic response to the surrounding bone biomechanical properties. The 10 MHz ultrasonic response of the implant was calculated using a finite difference numerical simulation tool and was compared to rf signals taken from a recent experimental study by Mathieu et al. [Ultrasound Med. Biol. 37, 262-270 (2011a)]. Reflection and mode conversion phenomena were analyzed to understand the origin of the different echoes and the importance of lateral wave propagation was evidenced. The sensitivity of the ultrasonic response of the implant to changes of (i) amount of bone in contact with the implant, (ii) cortical bone thickness, and (iii) surrounding bone material properties, was compared to the reproducibility of the measurements. The results show that, either a change of 1 mm of bone in contact with the implant, or 1.1 mm of cortical thickness or 12% of trabecular bone mass density should be detectable. This study paves the way for the investigation of the use of quantitative ultrasound techniques for the evaluation of bone-implant interface properties and implant stability.
authors.affiliation: CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, Laboratoire de Biomécanique et Biomatériaux Ostéo-Articulaires, UMR CNRS 7052, 10 avenue de Verdun, 75010 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mathieu
authors.forename: Fani
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Anagnostou
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Soffer
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Haiat
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003757:Dental Implantation; D015921:Dental Implants; D005269:Femur / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D008422:Materials Testing; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D016348:Osseointegration; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011817:Rabbits; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D014025:Titanium; D014465:Ultrasonics / Q000379:methods*; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D015921:Dental Implants; C031462:titanium alloy (TiAl6V4); D014025:Titanium