The study delves into measuring the flow behaviour of PMMA bone cement, commonly used in vertebroplasty to treat fractured vertebrae by percutaneous injection. Cement leakage is a common risk associated with vertebroplasty, often caused by the lack of understanding about the flow behaviour of the bone cement. In this paper, the behaviour of the bone cement is characterized to obtain parameters that govern its flow behaviour during injection.

Using rotational and oscillatory rheometry as well as a custom-made injector setup that replicated a typical vertebroplasty setting, the cement behaviour was found to be significantly dependent on deformations and temperature. Limitations of rotational rheometry and the validity of the Cox-Merz rule were highlighted, which provide important context to reported measurement data and subsequent interpretation of the bone cement behaviour.

Access the full paper here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c00417