Change in porosity is the major determinant of the variation of cortical bone elasticity at the millimeter scale in aged women

At the mesoscale (i.e. over a few millimeters), cortical bone can be described as two-phase composite material consisting of pores and a dense mineralized matrix. The cortical porosity is known to influence the mesoscopic elasticity. Our objective was to determine whether the variations of porosity are sufficient to predict the variations of bone mesoscopic anisotropic elasticity or if change in bone matrix elasticity is an important factor to consider. We measured 21 cortical bone specimens prepared from the mid-diaphysis of 10 women donors (aged from 66 to 98 years). A 50-MHz scanning acoustic microscope (SAM) was used to evaluate the bone matrix elasticity (reflected in impedance values) and porosity. Porosity evaluation with SAM was validated against Synchrotron Radiation μCT measurements. A standard contact ultrasonic method was applied to determine the mesoscopic elastic coefficients. Only matrix impedance in the direction of the bone axis correlated to mesoscale elasticity (adjusted R2 = [0.16–0.25], p < 0.05). The mesoscopic elasticity was found to be highly correlated to the cortical porosity (adj-R2 = [0.72–0.84], p < 10−5). Multivariate analysis including both matrix impedance and porosity did not provide a better statistical model of mesoscopic elasticity variations. Our results indicate that, for the elderly population, the elastic properties of the mineralized matrix do not undergo large variations among different samples, as reflected in the low coefficients of variation of matrix impedance (less than 6%). This work suggests that change in the intracortical porosity accounts for most of the variations of mesoscopic elasticity, at least when the analyzed porosity range is large (3–27% in this study). The trend in the variation of mesoscale elasticity with porosity is consistent with the predictions of a micromechanical model consisting of an anisotropic matrix pervaded by cylindrical pores.

► Cortical bone is a material consisting of pores and a mineralized matrix.
► Our goal was to identify the determinants of elasticity at the millimeter scale (mesoscale).
► Elasticity at meso and microscale and porosity were measured using ultrasound and SRCT.
► We found that porosity explains most of the variations of mesoscopic elasticity.
► The results are consistent with the predictions of a simple mechanical model.