Predicting bone remodeling using a mechano-biological mathematical model combined with a natural neighbor meshless method

Abstract

Bone tissue perceives certain mechanical stimuli, adapting its structure to a loading scenario through bone remodeling. Thanks to this ability, bone's functions of support and protection are assured. The mechanical response of bone is computationally reproduced in this work with a new bone remodeling model. Through a mechanobiological approach, the model includes two types of bone cells (i.e. osteoclasts and osteoblasts), describing its functioning and interaction with new sets of parameters. Mechanical stimulation induces a response by bone cells that ultimately is translated into variations of bone's apparent density and other mechanical properties by applying a material phenomenological law. The new algorithm here proposed is for the first time combined with an estabilished meshless method (Natural Neighbor Radial Point Interpolation Method), taking advantage of its features for biomedical applications. As a preliminary study, a two-dimensional bone patch is analyzed. A first study is performed to find the best parameters of NNRPIM for this type of simulation. Then, starting from a uniform bone distribution, a well-defined loading regime is imposed to the bone patch. Results revealed the expected bone adaption, attaining an optimized trabecular structure that reflects the orientation of the applied loads.