Volume Mesh Generation and Finite Element Analysis of Trabecular Bone Magnetic Resonance Images

In order to help the assessment of trabecular bone diseases and complement dual X-Ray absorptiometry (DXA) in diagnosis process, it is needed an accurate mechanical characterization of trabecular bone structure to estimate the risk of fracture and evaluate micro-architecture deterioration. As Finite Element modeling has become a well-established method for analysis of complex structures, an algorithm has been developed to build a Finite Element mesh from three-dimensional reconstruction information in voxels. Generated mesh is loaded in a finite element analysis software in order to simulate micro-architecture mechanical behavior under compression conditions. Most part of related researches have been based on ex vivo micro-computed tomography (muCT) scans. This study uses three-dimensional trabecular bone reconstructions from high resolution magnetic resonance images acquired in vivo.