Ultrasound waves are sound waves with frequencies greater than 20,000 Hz. Low intensity pulsed ultrasound has been found to be effective at stimulating the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts.
Published in Chapter:
Advances in Bone Tissue Engineering to Increase the Feasibility of Engineered Implant
Neelima Vidula (Northwestern University, USA), Jessy J. Mouannes (Northwestern University, USA), Nadia Halim (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA), and Shadi F. Othman (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA)
Copyright: © 2008
|Pages: 8
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-889-5.ch006
Abstract
Millions of patients experience bone loss as a result of degenerative disease, trauma, or surgery (Xu, Othman, Hong, Peptan, & Magin, 2005). Healthy bone tissue constantly regenerates itself and remodels its architecture to meet the mechanical demands imposed on it, as described by Wolff’s “Law of Bone Remodeling” (Wolff, 1986). However, this capacity is severely limited when there is insufficient blood supply, mechanical instability, or competition with highly proliferating tissues (Pinheiro & Gerbei, 2006). Furthermore, severe bone losses can be detrimental to individuals, because they reduce the bone’s ability to remodel, repair, and regenerate itself (Luo et al., 2005; Nordin & Franklin, 2001), ultimately resulting in the deterioration of a patient’s health, and, in some instances, death (Luo et al., 2005).