Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory recently used a Blue Gene supercomputer to create the most extensive simulation real human bone structure to date. Their work gives doctors a heretofore unseen "high definition" view of the strength and fragility of bones. The advance could mean better clinical tools for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, a disease that affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over the age of 50.
Osteoporosis is the world’s most widespread bone disease, affecting 75 million people in the US, Europe and Japan alone, and causing health costs second only to those associated with cardiovascular diseases. Literally "porous bone," the disease is characterized by loss of bone density, increasing the risk of fractures, and is a major cause of pain, disability and death in older persons.
In many cases, however, osteoporosis escapes diagnosis until a patient suffers a fracture. By then the disease is already well advanced, and requires extensive treatment such as implants or surgical plates.
Today, osteoporosis is diagnosed by measuring bone mass and density using specialized X-ray or computer tomography techniques. The new method developed in Zurich combines density measurements with a large-scale mechanical analysis of the inner-bone microstructure. Using large-scale simulations, researchers charted a dynamic "heat map" of strain, which changes with the load applied to the bone. This map shows a doctor exactly where and under what load a bone is likely to fracture.
"Knowing when and where a bone is likely to fracture, a clinician can also detect osteoporotic damage more precisely and, by adjusting a surgical plate appropriately, can determine its optimal location," explains Dr. Costas Bekas of IBM's Computational Sciences team in Zurich. "This work is an excellent example of the dramatic potential that supercomputers can have for our everyday lives."