Interfragmentary surface area as an index of comminution severity in cortical bone impact

A monotonic relationship is expected between energy absorption and fracture surface area generation for brittle solids, based on fracture mechanics principles. It was hypothesized that this relationship is demonstrable in bone, to the point that on a continuous scale, comminuted fractures created with specific levels of energy delivery could be discriminated from one another. Using bovine cortical bone segments in conjunction with digital image analysis of CT fracture data, the surface area freed by controlled impact fracture events was measured. The results demonstrated a statistically significant (p < 0.0001) difference in measured de novo surface area between three specimen groups, over a range of input energies from 0.423 to 0.702 J/g. Local material properties were also incorporated into these measurements via CT Hounsfield intensities. This study confirms that comminution severity of bone fractures can indeed be measured on a continuous scale, based on energy absorption. This lays a foundation for similar assessments in human injuries.