Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the lead causes of pain and disability in adults. Bone marrow lesions (BMLs) are one feature of subchondral bone involvement in OA. MRI images suggest changes in tissue content and properties in the affected regions however, it is not known if this alters the mechanical behavior of the bone, which could in turn affect OA progression. The aim of this study was to characterize the mechanical properties of BMLs, using a combined experimental and computational approach. Six human cadaveric patellae from donors aged 56–76 were used in this study; all exhibited BML regions under MRI. Bone plugs were taken from non-BML (n = 6) and BML (n = 7) regions within the patellae, with guidance from the MRI. The plugs were imaged at 82µm resolution using micro computed tomography (µCT) and tested under uniaxial compression. Finite element (FE) models were created for each plug from the µCT scans and morphological properties such as bone volume fraction (BV/TV) were also determined. The relationship between bone volume fraction and apparent modulus was investigated for both sample groups.Abstract
Introduction
Methods
