Biomechanical Testing of Cadaveric Specimens: Importance of Bone Mineral Density Assessment

The bone density of cadaveric specimens is highly variable and has a significant effect on the results of biomechanical testing but it is not often assessed before testing is performed in the lab. Bone mineral density (BMD) tests such as dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are widely available, easy to perform and correlate highly and significantly with bone strength in many modes of failure. We present the results of two different studies performed on cadaveric foot and ankle specimens. In these studies the results vary significantly according to BMD, and this effect is not always eliminated with the use of matched pairs of cadaveric specimens.