Elastic Modulus of Woven Bone: Correlation with Evolution of Porosity and X-ray Greyscale

Abstract

The woven bone created during the healing of bone regeneration processes is characterized as being extremely inhomogeneous and having a variable stiffness that increases with time. Therefore, it is important to study how the mechanical properties of woven bone are dependent on its microarchitecture and especially on its porosity and mineral content. The porosity and the x-ray greyscale of specimens taken from bone transport studies in sheep were assessed by means of ex vivo imaging. Our study demonstrates that the porosity of the woven bone in the distraction area diminishes during the healing process from 73.3% 35 days after surgery to 31.9% 525 days after surgery. In addition, the woven bone's porosity is negatively correlated with its Young's modulus. The x-ray greyscale, was measured as an indicator of the level of mineralization of the woven bone. Greyscale index has been demonstrated to be inversely proportional to porosity and to increase to up to 60-80% of the level in cortical bone. The results of this study may contribute to the development of micromechanical models of woven bone and improvements in in silico modelling.