Characterizing bone with fractal geometry. In Medical Engineering & Physics (May 2013), researchers used fractal geometry to characterize human cortical bone.

A measure of the variation in the volume of cortical bone tissue—called fractal dimension—was determined for each in a sample of 10 human ribs. The researchers used fractal dimension scores to predict the bone tissue’s stiffness index, called Young’s Modulus (measured in gigapascals).

EmPAtHY RiBS Young’s Modulus (GPa) Fractal Dimension 18.3 2.48 11.6 2.48 32.2 2.39 30.9 2.44 12.5 2.50 9.1 2.58 11.8 2.59 11.0 2.59 19.7 2.51 12.0 2.49 Source: Sanchez-Molina, D., et al. “Fractal dimension and mechanical properties of human cortical bone.” Medical Engineering & Physics, Vol. 35, No. 5, May 2013 (Table 1).