Bone Quality Assessment at the Atomic Scale

The assessment of osteoporosis regarding bone mass and microarchitecture “quality” contributes in determining fracture risk. Therefore, the crystalline structure of hydroxyapatite may indicate the quality of trabecular bones through the identification of crystallite sizes, microhardness and microdeformation values and calcium and phosphorous proportions in the three types of bones: normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic. Nine L1 vertebrae-dried trabecular bones from human cadavers were used. The characterization of the three types of bones was made through scanning electron microscopy, EDS, microhardness, and X-ray diffractometry with the Rietveld refinement method. The results show that the microstructural characterization possibilities the identification of the three types of bones: normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic, allowing the detection of osteoporosis based on bone quality.