Three-Dimensional Assessment of the Biological Periacetabular Defect Reconstruction in an Ovine Animal Model: A µ-CT Analysis

TL;DR

This study evaluates how well different bone graft materials help repair hip bone defects in sheep, using detailed 3D imaging to compare new bone growth and structure.

Contribution

The study introduces a 3D µ-CT analysis of bone graft materials in an ovine model to assess biological reconstruction of acetabular defects.

Findings

NanoBone® showed the highest new bone volume and retained the most graft material.

Autologous and allogeneic bone grafts produced microstructures closer to natural bone.

NanoBone® had a significantly lower structure model index, indicating more advanced bone remodeling.

Abstract

The increasing number of acetabular revision total hip arthroplasties requires the evaluation of alternative materials in addition to established standards using a defined animal experimental defect that replicates the human acetabular revision situation as closely as possible. Defined bone defects in the load-bearing area of the acetabulum were augmented with various materials in an ovine periacetabular defect model (Group 1: NanoBone® (artificial hydroxyapatite-silicate composite; Artoss GmbH, Germany); Group 2: autologous sheep cancellous bone; Group 3: Tutoplast® (processed allogeneic sheep cancellous bone; Tutogen Medical GmbH, Germany)) and bridged with an acetabular reinforcement ring of the Ganz type. Eight months after implantation, a μ-CT examination (n = 8 animals per group) was performed. A μ-CT analysis of the contralateral acetabula (n = 8, randomly selected from all three groups) served as the control group. In a defined volume of interest (VOI), bone volume (BV), mineral volume (MV), and bone substitute volume (BSV), as well as the bone surface (BS) relative to the total volume (TV) and the surface-to-volume ratio (BS/BV), were determined. To assess the bony microarchitecture, trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), and trabecular number (Tb.N), as well as connectivity density (Conn.D), the degree of anisotropy (DA), and the structure model index (SMI), were evaluated. The highest BV was observed for NanoBone® (Group 1), which also showed the highest proportion of residual bone substitute material in the defect. This resulted in a significant increase in BV/TV with a significant decrease in BS/BV. The assessment of the microstructure for Groups 2 and 3 compared to Group 1 showed a clear approximation of Tb.Th, Tb.Sp, Tb.N, and Conn.D to the microstructure of the control group. The SMI showed a significant decrease in Group 1. All materials demonstrated their suitability by supporting biological defect reconstruction. NanoBone® showed the highest rate of new bone formation; however, the microarchitecture indicated more advanced bone remodeling and an approximate restoration of the trabecular structure for both autologous and allogeneic Tutoplast® cancellous bone when using the impaction bone grafting technique.

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