Simulation of the in vivo resorption rate of β-tricalcium phosphate bone graft substitutes implanted in a sheep model.

A few years ago, a model was proposed to predict the effect of the pore architecture of a bone graft substitute on its cell-mediated resorption rate. The aim of the present study was to compare the predictions of the model with the in vivo resorption rate of four β-tricalcium phosphate bone graft substitutes implanted in a sheep model. The simulation algorithm contained two main steps: (1) detection of the pores that could be accessed by blood vessels of 50 μm in diameter, and (2) removal of one solid layer at the surface of these pores. This process was repeated until full resorption occurred. Since the pore architecture was complex, μCT data and fuzzy imaging techniques were combined to reconstruct the precise bone graft substitute geometry and then image processing algorithms were developed to perform the resorption simulation steps. The proposed algorithm was verified by comparing its results with the analytical results of a simple geometry and experimental in-vivo data of β-TCP bone substitutes with more complex geometry. An excellent correlation (r(2)>0.9 for all 4 bone graft substitutes) was found between simulation results and in-vivo data, suggesting that this resorption model could be used to (i) better understand the in vivo behavior of bone graft substitutes resorbed by cell-mediation, and (ii) optimize the pore architecture of a bone graft substitute, for example to maximize its resorption rate.