Relationship between impact velocity, loading rate, and femoral bone strength during lateral impacts with biofidelic fall conditions.

Femoral neck strength was assessed in five cadaveric human femora (age ranging 27-80) using simulated lateral impacts with a test system aligned with a CSA test standard. Prior to testing, hip-specific DXA scans were obtained to extract femoral neck BMD. Simulated lateral impacts were performed with incremental increases in impact velocity until failure. The relationships between loading rate, bone strength, and BMD were investigated through correlation analysis. In addition, a non-linear regression model was developed to predict loading rate from impact velocity (R2= 0.740) to help inform future mechanical testing of femora using load-controlled (rather that deflection-controlled) to simulate lateral impacts at a given impact velocity.