The structure of bone inside a porous bone graft substitute can be quantified and compared by using a combination of novel measurements of surface area and connectivity. This allows for a numerical representation of the bone structure to be calculated. Variation in absolute bone volume as a function of bone graft porosity has been well documented. However quantification of the 3D shape of bone and it's connectivity has always been difficult to assess let alone quantify. By use of novel computational methods the shape and connectivity of the bone can be characterised giving more insight to the relative quality of the bone ingrowth within the different porous grafts.Summary Statement
Introduction
“Increases in reconstructive orthopaedic surgery, resulting from advances in surgical practice and the ageing population, have lead to a demand for bone graft that far exceeds supply.”…Traditional bone grafting methods have been linked with a number of negative issues including increased morbidity due to secondary operation site and action as a vector for spread of disease. (Hing 2004). A solution to these insufficiencies would be the creation of a synthetic osteoinductive bone graft material. This would vastly improve bone graft surgery success rates and expedite post-op recovery times. The aim of this study was to classify then explore the dissolution rates of three experimental hydroxyapatite/silicate apatite synthetic bonegrafts in physiological solutions, (phosphate buffered saline, (PBS) +/− serum proteins, (PBS +FCS). The overall objective being to identify whether there is an explainable significant difference in ion exchange that could be behind the osteoinductive phenomena. Classification of the apatite samples, (HA, SA1 and SA2), was conducted via X-Ray diffraction, FTIR-PAS Spectroscopy and SEM with EDS analysis. A dissolution experiment of the experimental apatites was conducted in PBS and PBS + FCS solutions, over time periods of 1, 2 and 4 hours, and at 1, 2, 4 and 8 days, with repeat measures.Background, Context and Motivation
Methods Used
