# ATLAS OF HUMAN BONE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

> **NIH NIH R01** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 1988 · $47,695

## Abstract

The overall objective of this work is produce an "Atlas of Human
Bone Mechanical Properties".  This atlas will document site
specific, orthotropic elastic moduli, shear moduli, Poisson's ratios,
densities, and structure of the cortical and cancellous regions of
the femur, tibia, patella, humerus, radius, mandible, and thoracic
and lumbar vertebrae.  Elastic properties will be measured from
several sites on each bone using a previously developed ultrasonic
technique.  Bones inlcuded in the study will be from four normal
and four severely osteopenic human cadavers, with the
determination of osteopenia will be made primarily by a transiliac
biopsy.

Such information is necessary and vital for the development of
accurate finite element models of the skeletal system.  Finite
element modeling (FEM) is an important tool for the analysis of
the mechanical response of biologic tissue to external forces.  The
versatility of FEM allows complicated geometry, as well as
inhomogeneous and anisotropic material properties, to be easily
incorporated into models of the skeletal system.  With the
increased availability and decreased price of more powerful
computational hardware, combined with more sophisticated and
less expensive software, very powerful modeling capabilities are
becoming available to a large number of researchers for analyses
of the effects of bone loss and prosthetic design.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3157513
- **Project number:** 5R01AR036257-05
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **SAM.gov UEI:** YZJ6DKPM4W63
- **Principal Investigator:** RICHARD B. ASHMAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1988
- **Award amount:** $47,695
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1984-08-01 → 1990-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3157513

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3157513, ATLAS OF HUMAN BONE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES (5R01AR036257-05). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3157513. Licensed CC0.

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