Rodríguez Diego Quexada, Ho Ba Tho Marie-Christine, Trabelsi Olfa, Garzón-Alvarado Diego
Biotechnology Institute, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia.
Université de Technologie de Compiègne, CNRS, Biomechanics and Bioengineering, Centre de Recherche Royallieu, CS 60 319 - 60 203 Compiègne Cedex, Compiègne, France.
J Orthop. 2025 Apr 28;63:228-237. doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2025.04.014. eCollection 2025 May.
This research investigates how trabecular patterns affect growth plate morphology, focusing on shape, trabecular patterns, and ossification bridges. By studying mechanical adaptations, we propose a new methodology to model endochondral growth and bone remodeling, applicable to clinical cases involving growth abnormalities or growth plate diseases.
We developed a finite element model that integrates bone remodeling with an endochondral ossification law. The osteogenic index was used to impose a strain rate tensor, capturing growth from chondrocyte hypertrophy and proliferation in the growth plate. Then an examination was performed of the mechanical influence of trabecular structures on growth plate development and ossification through qualitative topology comparisons and statistical analysis of shape parameters affecting bone formation. Validation was conducted using medical images and μ-CT scans. The model was calibrated with a benchmark case, adjusting growth plate shape and thickness, and then applied to a hip dysplasia case and tibial growth.
Growth plate adapts its shape in response to the local mechanical environment and this has implications for growth plate closure. Unlike previous models treating the environment as a continuum, our model assessed localized load transmission via trabecular groups. Morphological changes in the growth plate and nearby bone adaptation help withstand shear stress, increasing bone density in specific regions, the most significant parameters being growth plate thickness and period of oscillations. A response surface and Pearson coefficient analysis show that the thickness and amplitude of the growth plate have the most significant effect on the bone density in the vicinity of the growth plate.
This new model has the potential to advance the management of medical conditions such as slipped capital femoral epiphysis, Sever's disease, and interventions like epiphysiodesis. This research may lead to improved diagnostic tools and therapeutic strategies for treating growth plate-related disorders.
本研究调查小梁模式如何影响生长板形态，重点关注形状、小梁模式和骨化桥。通过研究力学适应性，我们提出一种新方法来模拟软骨内生长和骨重塑，适用于涉及生长异常或生长板疾病的临床病例。
我们开发了一个将骨重塑与软骨内骨化定律相结合的有限元模型。成骨指数用于施加应变率张量，捕捉生长板中软骨细胞肥大和增殖引起的生长。然后通过定性拓扑比较和影响骨形成的形状参数的统计分析，研究小梁结构对生长板发育和骨化的力学影响。使用医学图像和μ-CT扫描进行验证。该模型用一个基准案例进行校准，调整生长板形状和厚度，然后应用于髋关节发育不良病例和胫骨生长。
生长板会根据局部力学环境调整其形状，这对生长板闭合有影响。与以往将环境视为连续体的模型不同，我们的模型通过小梁组评估局部载荷传递。生长板的形态变化和附近骨骼的适应性有助于承受剪切应力，增加特定区域的骨密度，最重要的参数是生长板厚度和振荡周期。响应面和皮尔逊系数分析表明，生长板的厚度和振幅对生长板附近的骨密度影响最为显著。
这个新模型有潜力推进对诸如股骨头骨骺滑脱、塞弗氏病等病症的管理，以及骨骺固定术等干预措施。这项研究可能会带来用于治疗生长板相关疾病的改进诊断工具和治疗策略。
