Bone Structure Adaptation as a Cellular Automaton Optimization Process

Computational simulation of trabecular adaptation progress in human proximal femur during growth

“…Huiskes (2000) summarized this observation: ''It has been shown that computer algorithms for material design optimization, when given the opportunity, show the tendency to produce trabecular patterns, similar to bone.'' In addition to this qualitative comparison, the phenomenological and topology optimization-based approaches have been explicitly compared (Harrigan and Hamilton, 1994;Subbarayan and Bartel, 2000;Tovar, 2004), and it has been shown that their structural analogy is remarkable (Nowak, 2006). Especially Jang et al (2009) derived the mathematical relations among the parameters in topology optimization and phenomenological approach.…”

A fully anisotropic hierarchical hybrid cellular automaton algorithm to simulate bone remodeling

“…The continuum domain is discretized into a lattice of micromechanical models, each containing a regular lattice of CAs. The CA lattice for each micromechanical model represents the osteocytic network in the bone tissue (Tovar, 2004). For this work we consider a lattice of identical micromechanical models, although this is not a requirement of the HHCA algorithm.…”

“…This model assumes that bone remains locally isotropic and changes in relative density are driven by a mechanical stimulus target. The HCA method has been shown to successfully predict the apparent density distribution in a proximal femur model (Tovar, 2004). In an effort to accommodate the hierarchical nature of bone, the HCA approach was extended to multiple scales.…”

“…In Tovar et al (2004), a novel methodology was developed to simulate the bone adaptation process, known as the hybrid cellular automata (HCA) algorithm. This biologically inspired algorithm utilizes the cellular automata (CA) computing paradigm, a method which facilitates the simplification of complex static and dynamic problems to a set of local rules that operate over a regular lattice of CAs, each knowing their local conditions.…”

Evolution of constrained layer damping using a cellular automaton algorithm

“…The death process weakens and eventually kills cells that are not being utilized fully. In this way, bone adapts to perform its mechanical function while maintaining an appropriate weight [31]. The process of bone remodelling does not then formally maximize the 'strength-to-weight' ratio of the bone, but iterates towards a system, which satisfies appropriate performance criteria.…”