CT-based finite element modeling of a porcine femur: specimen-specific HU–modulus fitting and experimental displacement comparison

Introduction Finite element (FE) models have significantly advanced bioengineering by enabling the characterization of biological tissues, assessment of mechanical responses to loading, and development of prosthetic and biomedical applications. Porcine bone provides a relevant experimental model because of its similarities to human bone tissue. This study investigated the mechanical response of porcine femoral bone by comparing experimental compression data with finite element models derived from medical imaging. Methods Computed tomography (CT) scans of a porcine femur were segmented to generate FE models with element-wise, piecewise-constant inhomogeneous isotropic material properties assigned from local Hounsfield Unit (HU) averages. Axial compression tests provided experimental load–displacement data, while stress and strain fields were obtained from the numerical models. Results The experimental and numerical displacement values differed by approximately 0.3%, 2%, and 1% for the cortical, cortical–trabecular, and trabecular regional comparisons, respectively. The numerical models additionally enabled characterization of stress and strain distributions and identification of regions of elevated mechanical response. Discussion These results demonstrate close specimen-specific agreement between the experimental displacement measurements and the CT-based FE predictions. However, because the HU–density–modulus coefficients were fitted using experimental data from the same femur, the reported agreement represents specimen-specific experimental-numerical consistency rather than independent validation, and transferability to other specimens or imaging protocols remains to be established.