Hallux valgus: Measurements and characterization

• Measurement methods for the objective and early detection of hallux valgus (HA) disease is proposed.
• The methods combine well known measurement techniques applied in engineering material science.
• The use of well-known techniques guaranties the traceability of the measurements.
• Samples from healthy and unhealthy bones with different HA severities are analyzed.
• Preliminary experimental tests asses the suitability and the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

The aim of the paper is the characterization of a bone affected by hallux valgus pathology by measurement techniques normally used in material science. These techniques are able to show the differences between healthy bone and bone affected by hallux valgus. In particular, the ratio between organic and inorganic components of the bone is defined by measurement with thermogravimetric analysis. The different crystallinity of the bone samples are evaluated by X-ray powder diffraction techniques. The experimental results show that the proposed measurement techniques can be a prospective approach to study this type of pathology and to define the degree of the pathology.