The role of cancellous bone architecture in misalignment and side effect errors

Abstract

Cancellous bone is often found at the ends of long bones and similar load-bearing surfaces. Its complex architecture allows high stiffness and strength, while also minimizing the mass and metabolic needs of the bone. This architecture confounds attempts to measure cancellous bone’s mechanical properties to produce a model for predicting its response to various loading scenarios (e.g., falls). Two of these experimental challenges, specimen misalignment and “side effects”, are known to be significant; however, the role of architecture on the magnitude of these artefacts is unknown. The current study used finite element method (FEM) modelling of bovine cancellous bone to examine this issue in more detail. Misalignment is strongly dependent on bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and degree of anisotropy (DA). Side-effects are affected by trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp), as well as BV/TV and DA. These findings will result in more accurate testing, and hence more accurate modeling, of cancellous bone behaviour.