The Weibull Distribution on Reliability Evaluation of Mechanical Property for Impaction Bone Grafting

Background: The mechanical properties of bone grafts used to reconstruct defects during revision surgery, and their long-term reliability, are important in terms of treatment outcomes. However, few relevant studies have appeared. Herein, we use a new method, the Weibull distribution, to evaluate reliability.Methods: We created impacted bone grafts of two distinct sizes (7–10 mm and small slurry) using an impacting apparatus. The elastic moduli were evaluated in vitro and the Weibull moduli (m values) were calculated.Results: The elastic moduli fitted the Weibull distribution well. Large bone grafts (7–10 mm) exhibited high elastic moduli but low Weibull moduli, suggestive of poor reliability.Conclusions: The Weibull distribution was useful to evaluate the reliability of bone graft mechanical properties. A high Weibull modulus indicated high reliability and thus low variability. Both the values and reliability of mechanical properties must be considered when contemplating bone grafting.