Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY, 12180, USA.
Curr Osteoporos Rep. 2018 Aug;16(4):423-433. doi: 10.1007/s11914-018-0454-8.
The mechanical integrity of bone is determined by the direct measurement of bone mechanical properties. This article presents an overview of the current, most common, and new and upcoming experimental approaches for the mechanical characterization of bone. The key outcome variables of mechanical testing, as well as interpretations of the results in the context of bone structure and biology are also discussed.
Quasi-static tests are the most commonly used for determining the resistance to structural failure by a single load at the organ (whole bone) level. The resistance to crack initiation or growth by fracture toughness testing and fatigue loading offers additional and more direct characterization of tissue material properties. Non-traditional indentation techniques and in situ testing are being increasingly used to probe the material properties of bone ultrastructure. Destructive ex vivo testing or clinical surrogate measures are considered to be the gold standard for estimating fracture risk. The type of mechanical test used for a particular investigation depends on the length scale of interest, where the outcome variables are influenced by the interrelationship between bone structure and composition. Advancement in the sensitivity of mechanical characterization techniques to detect changes in bone at the levels subjected to modifications by aging, disease, and/or pharmaceutical treatment is required. As such, a number of techniques are now available to aid our understanding of the factors that contribute to fracture risk.
骨骼的机械完整性取决于骨骼机械性能的直接测量。本文概述了当前最常见的以及新出现的用于骨骼力学特性分析的实验方法。还讨论了力学测试的关键结果变量，以及在骨骼结构和生物学背景下对结果的解释。
准静态测试是最常用于确定器官（整个骨骼）水平结构失效阻力的方法。通过断裂韧性测试和疲劳加载来抵抗裂纹萌生或扩展，提供了对组织材料性能的更多直接特性描述。非传统压痕技术和原位测试越来越多地用于探测骨骼超微结构的材料特性。破坏性的离体测试或临床替代指标被认为是评估骨折风险的金标准。特定研究中使用的力学测试类型取决于感兴趣的长度尺度，其中结果变量受骨骼结构和组成之间的相互关系影响。需要提高力学特性分析技术检测因衰老、疾病和/或药物治疗而发生改变的骨骼水平的变化的敏感性。因此，现在有许多技术可用于帮助我们理解导致骨折风险的因素。
