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Study on the poroelastic behaviors of the defected osteochondral unit

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Abstract

Osteoarthritis has become a major disease threatening human health. The mechanism of injury under fluid involvement can be studied by finite element method. However, most models only model the articular cartilage to study the subchondral bone structure, which is too simplistic. In this study, a complete osteochondral unit was modeled and provided with a poroelastic material, and as osteoarthritis develops and the size, thickness, and shape of the osteochondral unit defect varies, the fluid flow behavior is altered, which may have functional consequences that feed back into the progression of the injury. The results of the study showed that interstitial fluid pressure and velocity decreased in defective osteochondral units. This trend was exacerbated as the size and thickness of the defect in the osteochondral unit increased. When the defect reached the trabeculae, pressure around the cartilage defect in the osteochondral unit was greatest, flow velocity in the subchondral cortical bone was greatest, and pressure and flow velocity around the trabecular defect were lowest. As osteoarthritis develops, the osteochondral unit becomes more permeable, and the pressure of the interstitial fluid decreases while the flow rate increases, resulting in severe nutrient loss. This may be the fluid flow mechanism behind osteochondral defects and osteoarthritis.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Regional Joint Key Funding Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. U21A20353), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12272250, 11972242, and 82172503), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2020M680913), Shanxi Province Returned Overseas Foundation (Grant No. 2022–081), the Shanxi Province Basic Research Program (Grant No. 202203021212254), and the Graduate Innovation Program of Shanxi Province (Grant No. 2023–125).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Hao Zhong, Xinqi Lou, Xuanze Fan, Songyuan Wang, Xiyu Wang, Lei Ma, Yanqin Wang, Jing Chen, Yanru Xue, Xiaogang Wu & Weiyi Chen

  2. Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory for Repair of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury, Taiyuan, 030001, China

    Pengcui Li, Xiaochun Wei & Xiaogang Wu

  3. Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030032, China

    Yanru Xue

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  1. Hao Zhong
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  2. Xinqi Lou
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Correspondence to Yanru Xue, Xiaogang Wu or Weiyi Chen.

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Zhong, H., Lou, X., Fan, X. et al. Study on the poroelastic behaviors of the defected osteochondral unit. Med Biol Eng Comput 62, 1139–1152 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-023-02996-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-023-02996-8

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