Advanced Techniques in Biology & Medicine
Open Access

Abstract

A Validated Method for Titanium Implant Anchorage Analysis using MicroCT and Biomechanical Testing

Y GABET and I BAB

We present here a protocol for the combined microstructural and biomechanical evaluation of endosseous titanium implant anchorage. The protocol is highly relevant for orthopedic and oral surgery experimentalists studying endosseous implantation, a discipline comprising ~150 publications yearly. The protocol is based on (i) insertion of titanium mini-implants horizontally into the rat proximal tibial metaphysis; (ii) quantitative microstructural evaluation by micro-computed tomography, including assessment of the bone-implant contact; (iii) correction of the bias due to implant positioning; (iv) biomechanical pullout testing using a customized jig for linear axial loading. A highlight of the protocol is image guided failure assessment consisting of time-lapsed biomechanical-microstructural analysis of the peri-implant bone deformation during implant pullout. Using this protocol we have demonstrated highly significant correlations between key microstructural and mechanical parameters. More importantly, we showed how changes to the metabolic state of the organism, like gonadectomy and bone anabolic agents, as well as implant surface properties affect the distribution and magnitude of critical strains in the peri-implant bone.