Bone Strength Changes in Rats Exposed to Proton Radiation

Abstract

Once outside the Earth’s magnetic field astronauts are exposed to a range of particles that can alter their biological makeup. Exposure to radiation has been shown to increase bone porosity and thus an increased fracture risk. This study focuses on the material properties from head only proton irradiated bone through the use of micro-indentation techniques. Overall, the data has shown a downward trend in instantaneous and long-time shear modulus as radiation dosage increases. Using this trend, we can infer that there seems to be an effect on the material properties of proton irradiated bones. It is possible that this downward may be due to a deterioration of the organic matrix, where an increase of crystallization will decrease the elastic properties of bone.