Biomechanics of Spine Fractures
Cross-section of a fractured vertebra (1)
Spine fractures afflict one in three women and one in five men over age 50. Yet in spite of the high prevalence, how spine fractures occur is not well understood. Little is known about the failure processes that lead to even commonly occurring fracture patterns in vertebrae.
This project focuses on characterization of deformation and failure mechanisms in the vertebra. Through use of 3-D “failure visualization” techniques combined with mechanical testing and computer modeling, we are able to obtain quantitative measures of how the vertebra deforms. We are also able to identify where failure initiates in the bone and how it propagates.
Cross-sections of a rabbit vertebra before (left) and after (right) a fracture was created in the laboratory
The long-term goal of this research is to enable highly accurate, patient-specific prediction of bone strength from clinically feasible measurements.
High-resolution images of a region of the interior of a human vertebra before (left) and during (middle) compression, and quantitative measurements of the deformations caused by the compression (right)
References
1. from Morgan, EF, Barnes, GL, Einhorn, TA. The Bone Organ System: Form and Function. In: Marcus, R, Feldman, D, Nelson, D, Rosen, CJ, editors. Osteoporosis, 3rd edition. Boston: Elsevier Academic Press, 2008.