Both bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular structure are important dete
rminates of bone mechanical properties. However, neither BMD or trabecular
structural features can completely explain the variations in bone mechanica
l properties. In this study, we combine BMD and bone structural features to
characterize bone mechanical behavior. Radiographs were obtained from 34 f
emoral neck specimens excised during total hip arthroplasties. Each neck ra
diograph was digitized and a region of interest (ROI) was selected from the
medial side of the femoral neck. Textural features, the global Minkoswski
dimension and trabecular orientation, were extracted from each ROI image us
ing Minkowski dimension analysis. The BMD of each specimen was measured usi
ng dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and subsequently normalized by bo
ne size as measured from a standard pelvis radiograph. Mechanical testing w
as performed on the trabecular bone cubes machined from each femoral neck t
o yield bone mechanical properties. Multiple regression was performed to se
lect the best features to predict bone mechanical properties. The results s
uggest that, using multiple predictors including normalized BMD structural
features, and patient age, the coefficients of determination (R-2) improved
over the use of BMD alone. For bone strength, the R-2 was improved from 0.
24 using conventional BMD to 0.48 using a four-predictor model. Similar res
ults were obtained in the prediction of Young's modulus, i.e., the R-2 was
improved from 0.25 to 0.55 in going from the model using conventional BMD t
o a four-predictor model. This study demonstrates the contributions of norm
alized BMD, structural features, and age to bone mechanical properties, and
suggests a potential method for the noninvasive evaluation of bone mechani
cal properties. (C) 1999 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.