Remodelling of trabecular bone in human distal tibia: A model based on an in-vivo HR-pQCT study

An abnormal remodelling process of bones can lead to various bone disorders, such as osteoporosis, making them prone to fracture. Simulations of load-induced remodelling of trabecular bone were used to investigate its response to mechanical signal. However, the role of mechanostat in trabecular-bone remodelling has not yet been investigated in simulations underpinned by a longitudinal in-vivo study in humans. In this work, a finite-element model based on a 6-month longitudinal in-vivo HR-pQCT study was developed and validated to investigate the effect of mechanical stimuli on bone remodelling. The simulated changes in microstructural parameters and density of trabecular bone were compared with respective experimental results. A maximum principal strain (MPS) and a maximum principal strain gradient (∇MPS) were used as mechanical signals to drive a five-stage mechanostat remodelling model, including additional over-strain and damage stages. It was found that the density distribution varied with the studied mechanical signals, along with decreasing with time levels of bone volume fraction BV/TV, trabecular thickness Tb.Th and bone surface area Tb.BS as well as increased trabecular separation Tb.Sp. Among these parameters, BV/TV and Tb.Th together with the bone remodelling parameters from the MPS model demonstrated a significant correlation with the experimental data. The developed model provides a good foundation for further development and investigation of the relationships between mechanical loading and human bone microarchitecture.