Sensitivity of Detecting Trabecular Bone Loss Using In-Vivo Micro-MRI-Based Biomechanics

Wenli Sun¹, Chamith Rajapakse¹, Felix W. Wehrli¹

Although micro-MRI-based biomechanics has been used to study mechanical alterations in trabecular bone due to disease or treatment, sensitivity of this approach under typical patient imaging conditions has not been well established. We investigated weather finite-element analysis performed on the basis of simulated In Vivo micro-MR images of the distal tibia is capable of detecting a reduction in axial stiffness resulting from a small amount of trabecular bone erosion and perforation. The data suggest that mechanical implications caused by subtle changes in trabecular bone are detectable via finite-element modeling under in-vivo micro-MR imaging conditions now achievable in patients.