Multiscale modeling of cancellous bone considering full coupling of mechanical, electrical and magnetic effects

TL;DR

This paper introduces a multiscale finite element approach to model cancellous bone considering coupled mechanical, electrical, and magnetic effects, aiding in osteoporosis detection and understanding disease progression.

Contribution

It presents a novel fully coupled multiscale model that integrates mechanical, electrical, and magnetic effects in cancellous bone using a two-phase material approach.

Findings

Magnetic field strength decreases with osteoporosis progression.

Numerical results differentiate healthy and diseased bone states.

Model confirms experimental observations on magnetic effects.

Abstract

Modeling of cancellous bone has important applications in the detection and treatment of fatigue fractures and diseases like osteoporosis. In this paper, we present a fully coupled multiscale approach considering mechanical, electrical and magnetic effects by using the multiscale finite element method and a two-phase material model on the microscale. We show numerical results for both scales, including calculations for a femur bone, comparing a healthy bone to ones affected by different stages of osteoporosis. Here, the magnetic field strength resulting from a small mechanical impact decreases drastically for later stages of the disease, confirming experimental research.