Bone Remodeling Under Vibration: A Computational Model of Bone Remodeling Incorporating the Modal Behavior of Bone

Abstract

Developing precise computational models of bone remodeling can lead to more successful types of orthopedic treatments and deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Empirical evidence has shown that bone adaptation to mechanical loading is frequency dependent, and the modal behavior of bone under vibration can play a significant role in remodeling process, particularly in the resonance region. The objective of this study is to develop a bone remodeling algorithm that takes into account the effects of bone vibrational behavior. An extended/modified model is presented based on conventional finite element (FE) remodeling models. Frequency domain analysis is used to introduce appropriate correction coefficients to incorporate the effect of bone's frequency response (FR) into the model. The method is implemented on a bovine bone with known modal/vibration characteristics. The rate and locations of new bone formation depend on the loading frequency and are consistently correlated with the bone modal behavior. Results show that the proposed method can successfully integrate the bone vibration conditions and characteristics with the remodeling process. The results obtained support experimental observations in the literature.