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Neutron tomographic imaging of bone-implant interface : Comparison with X-ray tomography

Isaksson, Hanna LU orcid ; Le Cann, Sophie LU ; Perdikouri, Christina LU ; Turunen, Mikael J. LU ; Kaestner, Anders ; Tägil, Magnus LU ; Hall, Stephen A. LU and Tudisco, Erika LU orcid (2017) In Bone 103. p.295-301
Abstract

Metal implants, in e.g. joint replacements, are generally considered to be a success. As mechanical stability is important for the longevity of a prosthesis, the biological reaction of the bone to the mechanical loading conditions after implantation and during remodelling determines its fate. The bone reaction at the implant interface can be studied using high-resolution imaging. However, commonly used X-ray imaging suffers from image artefacts in the close proximity of metal implants, which limit the possibility to closely examine the bone at the bone-implant interface. An alternative ex vivo 3D imaging method is offered by neutron tomography. Neutrons interact with matter differently than X-rays; therefore, this study explores if... (More)

Metal implants, in e.g. joint replacements, are generally considered to be a success. As mechanical stability is important for the longevity of a prosthesis, the biological reaction of the bone to the mechanical loading conditions after implantation and during remodelling determines its fate. The bone reaction at the implant interface can be studied using high-resolution imaging. However, commonly used X-ray imaging suffers from image artefacts in the close proximity of metal implants, which limit the possibility to closely examine the bone at the bone-implant interface. An alternative ex vivo 3D imaging method is offered by neutron tomography. Neutrons interact with matter differently than X-rays; therefore, this study explores if neutron tomography may be used to enrich studies on bone-implant interfaces. A stainless steel screw was implanted in a rat tibia and left to integrate for 6 weeks. After extracting the tibia, the bone-screw construct was imaged using X-ray and neutron tomography at different resolutions. Artefacts were visible in all X-ray images in the close proximity of the implant, which limited the ability to accurately quantify the bone around the implant. In contrast, neutron images were free of metal artefacts, enabling full analysis of the bone-implant interface. Trabecular structural bone parameters were quantified in the metaphyseal bone away from the implant using all imaging modalities. The structural bone parameters were similar for all images except for the lowest resolution neutron images. This study presents the first proof-of-concept that neutron tomographic imaging can be used for ex-vivo evaluation of bone microstructure and that it constitutes a viable, new tool to study the bone-implant interface tissue remodelling.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bone, Metal implant, Neutron tomography, X-ray tomography
in
Bone
volume
103
pages
7 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:28739417
  • wos:000408599600035
  • scopus:85026382361
ISSN
8756-3282
DOI
10.1016/j.bone.2017.07.022
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
159baae9-9f0c-461e-91e3-26e9ef408c23
date added to LUP
2017-08-22 15:57:54
date last changed
2024-04-14 16:12:25
@article{159baae9-9f0c-461e-91e3-26e9ef408c23,
  abstract     = {{<p>Metal implants, in e.g. joint replacements, are generally considered to be a success. As mechanical stability is important for the longevity of a prosthesis, the biological reaction of the bone to the mechanical loading conditions after implantation and during remodelling determines its fate. The bone reaction at the implant interface can be studied using high-resolution imaging. However, commonly used X-ray imaging suffers from image artefacts in the close proximity of metal implants, which limit the possibility to closely examine the bone at the bone-implant interface. An alternative ex vivo 3D imaging method is offered by neutron tomography. Neutrons interact with matter differently than X-rays; therefore, this study explores if neutron tomography may be used to enrich studies on bone-implant interfaces. A stainless steel screw was implanted in a rat tibia and left to integrate for 6 weeks. After extracting the tibia, the bone-screw construct was imaged using X-ray and neutron tomography at different resolutions. Artefacts were visible in all X-ray images in the close proximity of the implant, which limited the ability to accurately quantify the bone around the implant. In contrast, neutron images were free of metal artefacts, enabling full analysis of the bone-implant interface. Trabecular structural bone parameters were quantified in the metaphyseal bone away from the implant using all imaging modalities. The structural bone parameters were similar for all images except for the lowest resolution neutron images. This study presents the first proof-of-concept that neutron tomographic imaging can be used for ex-vivo evaluation of bone microstructure and that it constitutes a viable, new tool to study the bone-implant interface tissue remodelling.</p>}},
  author       = {{Isaksson, Hanna and Le Cann, Sophie and Perdikouri, Christina and Turunen, Mikael J. and Kaestner, Anders and Tägil, Magnus and Hall, Stephen A. and Tudisco, Erika}},
  issn         = {{8756-3282}},
  keywords     = {{Bone; Metal implant; Neutron tomography; X-ray tomography}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  pages        = {{295--301}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Bone}},
  title        = {{Neutron tomographic imaging of bone-implant interface : Comparison with X-ray tomography}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2017.07.022}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.bone.2017.07.022}},
  volume       = {{103}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}