The distribution of induced electrical activity in bent long bone

An analytical model based on classical piezoelectric theory was used to related electrical effects to the stress-state in a bone cross-section for simple bending of a cylindrical bone shaft. The results demonstrate that the overall polarities of the polarization volume charge and the induced electrical potential compare favorably with available experimental findings. Both the polarization charge and the induced electrical potential are shown to be highly sensitive to the angle between the material and bone axes between 0 and 10 degrees. A reduction of the bone cross-sectional area results in a higher magnitude in the polarization charges and the induced electrical potential at all points in a cross-section. No appreciable difference in the predicted electrical effects is observed for the use of two relevant piezoelectric d-matrixes.