RESEARCH
Estimating loading from bone adaptation
Using local tissue change and finite element models to estimate subject-specific loading in vivo.
Can the way bone changes tell us how it was loaded? This study uses longitudinal micro-CT and HR-pQCT to relate local formation and resorption to simulated mechanical conditions.
A mechanoregulation-based approach estimates subject-specific loads by finding loading scenarios that best explain observed tissue changes. The study also compares this with a morphology-based load-history method.
This connects the biological response back to the mechanical environment, rather than using simulations only to predict what tissue might do.