Title: Determination of diffusion coefficients in bovine bone by means of conductivity measurement

Authors: Gustav Lindberg; Abdallah Shokry; Wureguli Reheman; Ingrid Svensson

Addresses: Division of Solid Mechanics, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden ' Division of Solid Mechanics, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden; Industrial Engineering Department, Fayoum University, 63514 Fayoum, Egypt ' Division of Solid Mechanics, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden ' Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden

Abstract: Measuring the diffusivity of various substances in cortical bone is in general difficult. For instance, making use of micro computed tomography requires agents that can be separated from bone, blood and other substances that exist in cortical bone. Here a more easily accessible method is presented. A series of cortical bovine bone samples were put in a saturated solution of potassium chloride for a time period that was long enough for the samples to be regarded as saturated. The samples were removed from the solution and moulded in polyester leaving only the radial directions open. In the next step, the bone samples were put in distilled water and the conductivity of the water was registered over time. An analytical model fulfilling Ficks law was introduced and by means of Kalman filtering an estimation for the diffusion coefficient of potassium chloride in bovine bone is presented.

Keywords: bovine bone; diffusion experiments; conductivity measurement; bone material constants; Fick's law; Fourier series; Kalman filtering; transient solution; experimental biomechanics; cortical bone; saturated solutions; potassium chloride; analytical modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJECB.2014.066086

International Journal of Experimental and Computational Biomechanics, 2014 Vol.2 No.4, pp.324 - 342

Received: 07 Oct 2013
Accepted: 27 Mar 2014
Published online: 17 Dec 2014 *

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