Simulation of the effects of electric loadings on bone surface remodeling

Abstract

In recent decades, bone fracture healing methods have been the subject of many researches. According to many clinical studies, it is proved that bone healing can be promoted by application of electric and electromagnetic field in specific amplitudes, wave shapes and frequencies. In addition to clinical experiments, many mechanical models have been proposed to simulate effects of mechanical loadings on bone healing. But only a few of these models considered the electric properties of bone. In this paper, a model of piezoelectromagnetic bone has been simulated and modified based on electromagnetoelastic theory. The effects of pulsed and sine waveforms, and different constant electric and magnetic loadings on bone are investigated. It is demonstrated that electric and magnetic loadings affect bone surface remodelling. Besides, the effects of pulse width of electric and magnetic fields on bone remodelling were evaluated. Although this model can describe the process of bone surface remodelling under electric and magnetic loadings, it cannot explain some events in bone surface remodelling such as importance of rest durations after each physiotherapeutic procedure.