Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Osteoporosis is a disease of decreased bone density resulting in an increased risk of fracture, most often in the hip, spine and wrist. In our aging Canadian population, the prevalence of osteoporosis is rapidly increasing, and represents a significant burden on our health care system. This research develops a new diagnostic imaging technique for monitoring osteoporosis by combining a recently developed three-dimensional imaging technology (high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography; HR-pQCT) with the finite element (FE) method to estimate bone strength. The FE method is a numerical simulation technique commonly used in engineering design and testing, and is ideal for estimated the strength of complex materials. Combined, this novel tool will allow non-invasive assessment of subject-specific bone strength, and this would represent a significant shift from the clinical assessment approach that is based on density measurements. It will provide the first tool to be able to measure a patients' bone strength based on clinical image data. In addition to clinical applicability, this combined imaging and FE modeling approach would enable new research to study how bone yields and/or fractures, the interaction between bone and marrow phases (solid-fluid interaction) and nutrient and/or drug transport. The proposed work will focus on three objectives: (1) To develop a fast, efficient linear FE modeling approach so that HR-pQCT measurements of bone microarchitecture can be modeled to determine bone strength, and to do so considerably faster than current methods using widely available inexpensive computing hardware; (2) To investigate incorporation of constitutive material properties for modeling elasto-plastic material behaviour to study bone failure; and (3) To investigate including solid-fluid interaction for the study of the role of fluid pressure on bone strength, and nutrient and drug transport. This strategic academic-industry partnership with the Computer Modelling Group Ltd, a Canadian company specialized in porous media simulation, aims to develop a new approach for the study of bone diseases, and to advance methods for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis in Canada.