# PATHOMECHANICS OF FEMORAL HEAD ASEPTIC NECROSIS

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 1993 · $110,274

## Abstract

In the last several years, pre-collapse detection of femoral head
osteonecrosis (ON) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become ever more
frequent.  Delay or prevention of mechanical collapse of the involved
femoral head - certainly preferable to arthroplasty in this relatively
young patient group - is becoming an increasingly feasible treatment goal.
However, the efficacy of current therapeutic procedures in forestalling
head collapse remains highly variable.

We hypothesize that much of the variability in disease progression can be
explained in terms of quantifiable differences in the structural competence
of the involved femoral head.  To test this hypothesis, we propose to study
the relationship between structural deficit and clinical progression in a
representative series of ON patients for whom the lesion involvement
pattern can be reliably inferred from MRI.

We will pursue three specific aims.  First, we will further explore the
relationship between MRI appearance, histologic tissue status, and
mechanical property deficits in a series of resected femoral head
specimens.  Second, we will use an existing three-dimensional finite
element model (13,192 degrees of freedom) to estimate mechanical stress
distributions (based on MR imaging) in the femoral heads of 25 of our
institution's osteonecrosis patients.  In these patients, we will compute
an effective mechanical risk factor, and we will correlate that risk factor
with clinically-observed disease progression (i.e., collapse).  Third, we
will perform a series of in vitro benchtop experiments to physically
validate the finite element model.

If supported by the results of the MRI/FEM patient series (Aims 2), our
hypothesis has an important clinical implication:  the likelihood of
disease progression in a specific patient can be predicted based on the
mechanical challenge presented by that patient's particular distribution of
necrosis.  Should this prove to be the case, future studies can be designed
to explore the efficacy of alternative intervention strategies in reducing
that mechanical challenge, on a patient-specific basis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3157362
- **Project number:** 5R01AR035788-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **SAM.gov UEI:** Z1H9VJS8NG16
- **Principal Investigator:** THOMAS DUDLEY BROWN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $110,274
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1988-03-01 → 1994-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3157362

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3157362, PATHOMECHANICS OF FEMORAL HEAD ASEPTIC NECROSIS (5R01AR035788-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3157362. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*