Stereo visualization of 3D trabecular bone structures produced by bone remodelling simulation

Adult human bone is constantly being renewed by a process known as remodelling. For cancellous bone this renewal process occurs at the interface between bone and marrow where bone is depleted by osteoclasts and rebuilt by osteoblasts. This remodelling process allows bone to repair itself. Software simulators for bone remodelling provide insight into the bone remodelling process; they allow investigation into bone form and structural properties, and they also allow the emulation of bone diseases and possible treatments for these diseases over long periods of time. BONESIM is a software that simulates bone remodelling in terms of Basic Multi-cellular Units (BMUs). 3D visualization of trabecular bone and its attributes is an essential tool in understanding this remodelling process for cancellous bone. It enables the bone researcher to quickly understand the dynamic behaviour of remodelling, the resulting geometry of the bone structure and it allows alternative remodelling scenarios to be compared. This paper presents the volume visualization technique that has been developed to provide this visualization tool