Comprehensive study through imaging techniques of the degradation of a resorbable calcium sulphate-based composite bone cement

The stabilization and treatment of vertebral compression fractures via vertebroplasty procedure foresees the injection of bone cements and recent research is focused on the use of degradable cements featuring an appropriate degradation kinetics. This study presents an investigation into the degradation behaviour of a resorbable ceramic composite cement based on calcium sulphate hemihydrate (CSH), supplemented with strontium-containing mesoporous bioactive glasses (Sr-MBG) and zirconia nanoparticles (ZrO2). The alterations in the material's microstructure resulting from the degradation process were thoroughly analysed using two image analysis techniques. Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) was employed for scanning, while CT-An software associated with the instrument and a Python-coded image analysis tool were utilised to assess porosity and pore size distribution over time. Comparative analysis of the obtained results demonstrated the efficacy of both techniques in comprehensively understanding the internal microstructural changes and volume variations during the degradation of the ceramic composite cement.