This analysis demonstrates strong correlations between bone strain levels and 18F NaF PET uptake in tibial regions, suggesting their interconnectedness.
Motivation: Characterizing the relationships between loading and remodeling in vivo is important to understanding bone adaptation and pathophysiology. [18F]NaF PET may be a useful approach to interrogate this relationship. Goal(s): To evaluate spatial relationships between finite element-predicted strain and changes in [18F]NaF uptake. Approach: Finite element models were generated from MRI images to compute strains. PET images obtained simultaneously were used to compute [18F]NaF uptake before and after exercise. Mean standardized uptake and change in uptake were compared between regions experiencing different levels of strain. Results: Mean change in tracer uptake was greater in regions of very high tensile strain. Impact: [18F]NaF PET in combination with finite element analysis is a promising approach that can be used to improve our understanding of relationships between bone metabolism and loading, and of the pathophysiology of bone conditions.
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Bruce et al. (2025) studied this question.
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