In-silico simulations for early detection of abnormal bone loads to prevent the development of bony deformities

Bones are pivotal to long-term health, providing structural support and facilitating mobility. However, various patient groups commonly develop torsional bony deformities, leading to numerous clinical problems.

Understanding, monitoring, and ultimately modifying bone growth is crucial for improving the functional mobility of these patients and preserving lifelong health.

Despite recognizing, since the 19th century, that bone growth is influenced by mechanical loads, the specific loading environments leading to typical growth or deformities remain unknown.

This project fills this knowledge gap by examining the intricate relationships between mechanical loading, bone growth, and femoral morphology in typically developing children and those with torsional deformities. Quantifying an individuals bone loads and predicting subsequent femur growth poses scientific and technical challenges.

I will address these challenges by advancing state-of-the-art, multi-scale simulations to estimate muscle forces, joint loads, and growth plate stresses, and by refining a mechanobiological model to predict bone growth.

The simulations will be personalized and validated using medical images and motion capture data collected longitudinally from growing children. Each simulation step will be extensively tested and validated.

After testing, we will use this framework to investigate the effects of both surgical (i.e., derotation osteotomy) and non-surgical (i.e., gait retraining based on real-time biofeedback) interventions on growth plate loads, providing new insight into the capacity of these treatments to normalize bone growth.This project, if successful, may lead to a paradigm shift away from reactive interventions to treat bony deformities involving invasive surgeries towards proactive non-invasive interventions to prevent the development of deformities.

Even partial success promises ground-breaking insights into the intricate relationship between bone loads and morphology.