Electrical impedance detects early stages of bone healing: An in vivo explanatory study of tibial fractures in rabbits.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38863940.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1002/jeo2.12048 and PMC identifier 11165676.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Healing after bone fracture is assessed by clinical examination and frequent radiographs, which expose patients to radiation and lack standardisation. This study aimed to explore electrical impedance patterns during bone healing using electrical impedance spectroscopy in 18 rabbits subjected to tibial fracture stabilised with an external fixator. Impedance was measured daily across the fracture site at a frequency range of 5 Hz to 1 MHz. Biweekly radiographs were analysed using modified anterior-posterior (AP) radiographic union score of the tibia (RUST). The animals were divided into three groups with different follow-up times: 1, 3 and 6 weeks for micro-computer tomography and mechanical testing. A decreasing trend in impedance was observed over time for all rabbits at lower frequencies. Impedance closest to 5 Hz showed a statistically significant decrease over time, with greatest decrease occurring during the first 7 postoperative days. At 5 Hz, a statistically significant correlation was found between impedance and the modified AP RUST score and between impedance and bone volume fraction. This study showed that the electrical impedance can be measured in vivo at a distance from the fracture site with a consistent change in impedance over time and revealed significant correlation between increasing radiographic union score and decreasing impedance. Not applicable.