Multifractal spectrum and lacunarity as measures of complexity of osseointegration.

Objectives: The goal of this study is to contribute to a better quantitative description of the early stages of osseointegration, by application of fractal, multifractal, and lacunarity analysis.

Materials And Methods: Fractal, multifractal, and lacunarity analysis are performed on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of titanium implants that were first subjected to different treatment combinations of i) sand blasting, ii) acid etching, and iii) exposition to calcium phosphate, and were then submersed in a simulated body fluid (SBF) for 30 days. All the three numerical techniques are applied to the implant SEM images before and after SBF immersion, in order to provide a comprehensive set of common quantitative descriptors.