Low-Amplitude and High-Frequency Loading Influences Interstitial Fluid Flow in Osteogenesis Imperfecta Osteon

Abstract

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a brittle bone disorder caused due to mutation in genes encoding collagen Type-1 (col-1). Symptomatic treatments such as surgery, physiotherapy, and bisphosphonate treatments are available for OI patients. It is observed that bone is sensitive to external dynamic loading as it stimulates bone adaptation. Therefore, external mechanical stimulation may be an alternative to strengthen the OI bone. Low-amplitude, high-frequency treatment may offer a favorable path for noninvasive stimulation of bone formation in OI patients. Fluid flow is assumed as mechanobiological stimulus for osteocyte cells in bone which initiates new bone formation at micro-scale level, however, it is important to understand how loading parameters affect fluid flow in OI bone in comparison with normal healthy bone. The present study aims to probe the effects of low-amplitude, high-frequency loading on the behavior of interstitial fluid flow in osteogenesis imperfecta bone osteon and its comparison with the flow behavior in normal bone subjected to similar loading condition. A mathematical model of osteon is developed considering two boundary conditions with material properties of normal and OI bones. It has been observed that the fluid velocity at high frequency and low magnitude in OI case is nearly matching the range of fluid velocity found in the normal case at low frequency. The preliminary findings present here may be useful in the design of better biomechanical pathways to enhance the strength of OI bone.