Ex vivo experiment on vertebral body with defect representing bone metastasis
Journal:
arXiv
Published Date:
Mar 21, 2025
Abstract
Osteolytic metastases located in the vertebrae reduce strength and enhance
the risk of vertebral fractures. This risk can be predicted by means of
validated finite element models, but their reproducibility needs to be
assessed. For that purpose, experimental data are requested. The aim of this
study was to conduct open-access experiments on vertebrae, with artificial
defect representing lytic metastasis and using well-defined boundary
conditions. Twelve lumbar vertebral bodies (L1) were prepared by removing the
cortical endplates and creating defects that represent lytic metastases, by
drilling the cancellous bone. Vertebral bodies were scanned using clinical High
Resolution peripherical Quantitative Computed Tomography before and after
defect creation for 3D reconstruction. The specimens were then tested under
compression loading until failure. Surface Digital Image Correlation was used
to assess strain fields on the anterior wall of the vertebral body. These data
(biomechanics data and the tomographic images needed to build subject-specific
models) are shared with the scientific community in order to assess different
vertebral models on the same dataset.
