Optimal principle of bone structure.

Abstract

Bone modeling and remodeling is an optimization process where no agreement has been reached regarding a unified theory or model. We measured 384 pieces of bone in vivo by 64-slice CT and discovered that the bone's center of mass approximately superposes its centroid of shape. This phenomenon indicates that the optimization process of non-homogeneous materials such as bone follows the same law of superposition of center of mass and centroid of shape as that of homogeneous materials. Based upon this principle, an index revealing the relationship between the center of mass and centroid of shape of the compact bone is proposed. Another index revealing the relationship between tissue density and distribution radius is followed. Applying these indexes to evaluate the strength of bone, we have some new findings.