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🦴 Bone Remodeling and Wolff's Law

Interactive 3D bone cross-section where users apply mechanical load along different axes and watch simulated osteoblast and osteoclast activity remodel the trabecular structure to align with stress lines.

Biophysics2DAdvanced60 FPS

A cross-section of trabecular bone reorganizes in real time as simulated osteoblasts and osteoclasts thicken struts aligned with an applied mechanical load and resorb the ones that aren't.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Each strut's alignment with the load axis determines whether osteoblasts add bone matrix (green) or osteoclasts resorb it (orange), so the random starting lattice gradually converges into trusses parallel to the load — a direct visualization of Wolff's law.

🎮 How to Use

Set the load angle and magnitude, then watch bone volume fraction and trabecular alignment evolve over simulated days. Regenerate the lattice to restart from a fresh, isotropic bone structure.

💡 Did You Know?

The trabecular pattern in the human femoral neck — first sketched by Wolff from cadaver X-rays — closely matches the stress trajectories predicted by simple beam theory for the loads placed on the hip while walking.

⚙ Under the hood

bone-remodelingwolffs-lawosteoblastsosteoclastsbiomechanicstrabecular-bone

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install