Development of a method for quantitative stress analysis in bones by three-dimensional photoelasticity

Comparative critical examination of methods suitable for studying stress in bones have shown that the three-dimensional photoelastic method is one of the most reliable. Described herein is the method for obtaining, by fusion, full-scale models in epoxy resin, that are exactly equivalent to external shape of the prototypes. This technique offers the advantages of being applicable without variation to any bone segment and of enabling a large number of additional resin castings to be made from the same mould. Hence it is possible to produce a very large number of copies of the same bone segment that will be suitable for comparative studies of different load situations. As an example, quantitative data expressing both surface and internal tension trends in the proximal third of a normal human femur are given.