Title: An energy-based technique for the development of a mechanobiological growth model of vertebrae

Authors: Hui Lin, Meiqing Wang

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, P.O. Box 6079, Station 'Centre-Ville', Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3A7, Canada; Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center, 3175 Cote-Ste-Catherine Rd., Montreal, Quebec, H3T 1C5, Canada. ' Department Oral Anatomy and Physiology and TMD, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, 145 West Changle Road, Xi-an, China

Abstract: Mechanobiological growth is the biological process whereby bone growth is modulated by mechanical loading. The goal of this study is to develop an energy-based mechanobiological bone growth model. Mechanobiological procedures basically include mechanosensing and mechanoregulation. This study represented the mechanosensing as a mathematical model combining energy and mechanical-triggered deformation. The mechanoregulation was modelled as a mathematical form integrated distortion and dilatation energy. Mechanobiological growth model was developed from those two procedures and represented as a function of distortion and dilatation stresses. The model was tested by using finite element model of a thoracic vertebra (T7) for simulating one-year growth procedure under multi-axial loads. The simulation results presented the retarded and stimulated growth under compression and tension. Shear stress increased the growth rate with 20%-40%. This model agreed with experimental study of growth and published numerical growth simulation of human vertebrae as well as mechanobiology theory. This model allows simulating vertebral growth under multi-direction loads.

Keywords: mechanobiological growth; mechanosensing; mechanoregulation; finite element method; FEM; multi-direction loads; human vertebrae; energy; modelling; bone growth; mechanical loading; mathematical modelling; deformation; distortion; dilatation stress; compression; tension; shear stress.

DOI: 10.1504/IJECB.2011.039949

International Journal of Experimental and Computational Biomechanics, 2011 Vol.1 No.4, pp.397 - 416

Published online: 30 Dec 2014 *

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