Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb:102:105875.
doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2023.105875. Epub 2023 Jan 5.

Measuring Young's modulus of single trabeculae in cancellous bone using a two-point bending test

Rasmus Johannes Clausing  1 , Alexander Stiller  1 , Florian Kuhn  1 , Carlos Alfonso Fonseca Ulloa  1 , Christian Fölsch  2 , Marian Kampschulte  3 , Gabriele A Krombach  3 , Markus Rickert  2 , Alexander Jahnke  4
Affiliations

Measuring Young's modulus of single trabeculae in cancellous bone using a two-point bending test

Rasmus Johannes Clausing et al. Clin Biomech (Bristol). 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Backround: Surgical treatment of proximal humeral fractures poses a major challenge, especially in osteoporotic bone. At present, there appears to exist neither a suitable model for research to optimize the osteosynthesis processes nor are the structural data available which are required for developing such a model. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the microscopic morphology and Young's modulus of cancellous bone from human humeral heads considering osteoporotic changes.

Methods: Cylindrical samples were taken from ten fresh-frozen human humeral heads and structural analysis was done with μCT. Ten rod-like trabeculae were prepared from five of the humeral heads each which were measured and tested mechanically. For this purpose, the trabeculae were fixed on a slide and rotated axially under a stereo microscope. The sample cross-section and the depending moment of inertia were extracted from the image data. The samples were then loaded in a 2-point bending test and Young's moduli of the samples were determined.

Results: It could be shown that with increasing age of the donor, ossified portion of the cancellous bone decreased (p < 0.05). The average degree of mineralization of the bone was 1.24 (±0.06) g/mm3, which decreased with increasing age (p < 0.05). The determined Young's modulus averaged 1.33 (±1.76) GPa.

Interpretation: The verified structural parameter showed osteoporotic changes in the examined bone. This study for the first time determined Young's modulus of single trabeculae of cancellous bone of osteoporotically altered human humeral heads. Implementing the non-destructive sample measurement before exposure resulted in a methodical improvement.

Keywords: Humeral head; Mechanical properties; Single trabeculae; Young's modulus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest In the name of the authors of the manuscript „ Measuring Young's modulus of single trabeculae in osteoporotic bone by using a two-point bending test “, we declare that the material therein has not been and will not be submitted for publication elsewhere except as an abstract, authors do not have any commercial relationship that might lead to a conflict of interests, and finally, all authors were fully involved in the study and preparation of the manuscript and each of the authors has read and concurs with the content in the final manuscript.

Publication types