Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Exp Med. Aug 20, 2015; 5(3): 182-187
Published online Aug 20, 2015. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v5.i3.182
Computed tomography-based finite element analysis to assess fracture risk and osteoporosis treatment
Kazuhiro Imai
Kazuhiro Imai, Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
Author contributions: Imai K contributed to this paper.
Supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI, No. 26462284.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Kazuhiro Imai has received research funding from Teijin Pharma Limited.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Kazuhiro Imai, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo, 3-8-1, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan. imaik-ort@umin.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-3-54546861 Fax: +81-3-54544317
Received: September 27, 2014
Peer-review started: September 28, 2014
First decision: November 14, 2014
Revised: April 23, 2015
Accepted: May 7, 2015
Article in press: May 8, 2015
Published online: August 20, 2015
Abstract

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computer technique of structural stress analysis and developed in engineering mechanics. FEA has developed to investigate structural behavior of human bones over the past 40 years. When the faster computers have acquired, better FEA, using 3-dimensional computed tomography (CT) has been developed. This CT-based finite element analysis (CT/FEA) has provided clinicians with useful data. In this review, the mechanism of CT/FEA, validation studies of CT/FEA to evaluate accuracy and reliability in human bones, and clinical application studies to assess fracture risk and effects of osteoporosis medication are overviewed.

Keywords: Finite element analysis, Bone mechanics, Hip fracture, Osteoporosis, Vertebral fracture, Fracture risk

Core tip: Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computer technique of structural stress analysis developed in engineering mechanics. With the faster computers, better FEA, using computed tomography (CT) has been developed. This CT-based finite element analysis (CT/FEA) has provided clinicians with useful data. In this review, the mechanism of CT/FEA, validation studies of CT/FEA to evaluate accuracy and reliability in human bones, and clinical application studies to assess fracture risk and osteoporosis treatment are overviewed.