A comparison of porosity, fabric and fractal dimension as predictors of the Young's modulus of equine cancellous bone

The purpose of this study was to compare the structural parameters of fabri c and fractal dimension as predictors of the Young's modulus of equine canc ellous bone. Eight 15 mm cubes of cancellous bone were obtained from three equine third metacarpal bones. Young's modulus was determined for the three orthogonal directions. The fabric and fractal dimension were calculated fo r each of the six exposed faces of each cube. Fractal dimension plus porosi ty provided a higher explanatory power for Young's modulus (R-2 = 78.7%, P < 0.0001) than fabric plus porosity (R-2 = 69.2%, P < 0.0001). Fractal dime nsion was also significantly correlated with fabric (R2 = 53.8%, P ( 0.0001 ). Although this novel method for combining fractal dimension data into a p seudo-directionally dependent predictor of Young's modulus requires further validation over a greater range of porosities and differing cancellous bon e tissues, its potential has been demonstrated. (C) 1998 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.