Andrés Tovar Biological structures are continually adapting to changes in their physical environment. In bones, for example, it has been widely accepted that mineral tissue is resorbed in regions exposed to low mechanical stimulus, whereas new bone is deposited where the stimulus is high. This process of functional adaptation is thought to enable bone to perform its mechanical functions with a minimum of mass. Many theoretical models for bone remodeling use this concept as part of the strategy

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... o simulate bone structural adaptation. These models imply the existence of an equilibrium state where the bone structure is adapted to the environment and no net remodeling is required. The first practical computational models were developed under the assumption of isotropy of the trabecular structure in the continuum level. Despite the similarities in density distribution with in-vivo bone, no convergent solution was possible to obtain. Recent models have been developed to consider the anisotropic nature of the trabecular bone in the continuum level making use of optimization principles; however, despite of some mechanical aspects reflected by these idealized microstructures, they just represent a mathematical abstraction of the trabecular architecture. The objective of this investigation is to develop an algorithm that incorporates tissuelevel mechanisms of bone functional adaptation compatible with both phenomenologi-Andrés Tovar cal and optimization approaches. This technique makes use of the cellular automaton