Micro-computed tomographic and SEM study of porous bioceramics using an adaptive method based on the mathematical morphological operations

Numerous clinical studies have demonstrated the influence of the size, number and shape of pores into calcium phosphate ceramics on the process of bone regeneration. The main objective of this study is to determine the microstructure, the morphological characteristics and classes of pores of the prepared hydroxyapatite bioceramic using an adaptive method based on the mathematical morphological operations. The study was carried out using X-ray microtomography and Scanning Electron Microscopy images. The conventional method of openings alone presents limitation of calculation and not sufficient to achieve our objective. The proposed method allowed us to extract local characteristics and calculate precisely the morphological parameters while preserving the original volume of pores. The number and classes of pores with their size, surface of contact of the component and the number of connected pores to each pore were calculated. The method is subjectively and quantitatively evaluated using different computed phantoms and its efficiency is clearly demonstrated through the different reports and measurements generated. The proposed method can have interesting applications in the characterization of porous materials used in the medical field or in other sectors.