An In Silico Model for the Prediction of Changes in Mineral Density in Cortical Bone Remodeling.

An in silico model for the estimation of volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) changes at a cortical bone site subjected to mechanobiological bone remodeling is proposed in this manuscript. Mechanisms of cell differentiation, receptor-ligand binding, mechanical signaling, and resorption or deposition of bone matrix were considered, therefore providing a comprehensive description of mechanobiological bone remodeling in the bone microenvironment and enabling the analysis of temporal evolution of disease or therapy scenarios. The proposed model is composed by five modules, namely, bone cells populations, mechanobiology, volume fractions and porosity, mineral density, and structural stiffness.