Estimation of Load Conditions and Strain Distribution for in Vivo Murine Tibia Compression Loading Using Experimentally Informed Finite Element Models

Overview

Journal J Biomech

Specialty Physiology

Date 2020 Dec 21

PMID 33348259

Citations 4

Authors

Edmund Pickering

Matthew J Silva

Peter Delisser

Michael D Brodt

Yuantong Gu

Peter Pivonka

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The murine tibia compression model, is the gold standard for studying bone adaptation due to mechanical loading in vivo. Currently, a key limitation of the experimental protocol and associated finite element (FE) models is that the exact load transfer, and consequently the loading conditions on the tibial plateau, is unknown. Often in FE models, load is applied to the tibial plateau based on inferences from micro-computed tomography (μCT). Experimental models often use a single strain gauge to assess the three-dimensional (3D) loading state. However, a single strain gauge is insufficient to validate such FE models. To address this challenge, we develop an experimentally calibrated method for identifying the load application region on the tibial plateau based upon measurements from three strain gauges. To achieve this, axial compression was conducted on mouse tibiae (n=3), with strains gauges on three surfaces. FE simulations were performed to compute the strains at the gauge locations as a function of a variable load location. By minimising the error between experimental and FE strains, the precise load location was identified; this was found to vary between tibia specimens. It was further shown that commonly used FE loading conditions, found in literature, did not replicate the experimental strain distribution, highlighting the importance of load calibration. This work provides critical insights into how load is transferred to the tibial plateau. Importantly, this work develops an experimentally informed technique for loading the tibial plateau in FE models.

Citing Articles

The loading direction dramatically affects the mechanical properties of the mouse tibia.

Farage-OReilly S, Cheong V, Pickering E, Pivonka P, Bellantuono I, Kadirkamanathan V Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024; 12:1335955.

PMID: 38380263 PMC: 10877372. DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1335955.

Cortical bone adaptation response is region specific, but not peak load dependent: insights from CT image analysis and mechanostat simulations of the mouse tibia loading model.

Miller C, Pickering E, Martelli S, DallAra E, Delisser P, Pivonka P Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2023; 23(1):287-304.

PMID: 37851203 PMC: 10901956. DOI: 10.1007/s10237-023-01775-6.

Using Finite Element Modeling in Bone Mechanoadaptation.

Meslier Q, Shefelbine S Curr Osteoporos Rep. 2023; 21(2):105-116.

PMID: 36808071 PMC: 10105683. DOI: 10.1007/s11914-023-00776-9.

Cortical Thickness Adaptive Response to Mechanical Loading Depends on Periosteal Position and Varies Linearly With Loading Magnitude.

Miller C, Trichilo S, Pickering E, Martelli S, Delisser P, Meakin L Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021; 9:671606.

PMID: 34222215 PMC: 8249932. DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.671606.

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