Abstract 6

STRUT ANALYSIS OF THE TRABECULAE IN THE TALUS

Butler, AM and Walsh, WR

Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, Prince of Wales Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Purpose: Studying trabecular bone and its adaptation to alterations in its physiologic and mechanical environment remains an important area of research. Quantifying the architecture of trabecular bone is important for diseases such as osteoporosis. The talus is unique in the human body as it has no muscular attachments and experiences all ground reaction forces. This study uses strut analysis to compare talar trabecular architecture in 3-D. Methods: Three human talii were sectioned (3mm thicknesses) in the anatomical planes. High resolution x-rays revealed the trabecular structure. The x-rays were digitized and the trabecular architecture analyzed using strut analysis software. Results: In the coronal plane the superior regions contained the strongest architecture. There was a significant difference between the superior and inferior regions revealing that the architecture gradually gets weaker. In the sagittal plane, the talar dome, neck and central region of the head possessed the strongest architecture. There was a significant difference between the superior and inferior sagittal zones. In the transverse plane the head contained the strongest architecture while the lateral region was also strong. Conclusions: The strut analysis showed that the architecture gets weaker the further away from the superior articulation. Although bone strength at the ankle joint has been reported previously, as far as the authors are aware, the 3-D approach taken in this study has not been described for the talus. Talus trabecular architecture is complex but the strut analysis shows it to be optimally structured for its load-bearing function as well as highlighting areas of strength.

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