A Practical Method for Real-Time Optical Imaging of Damage Zone and Microscale Failure in Bone

Bone is an extremely complex composite material with hierarchical organization ranging from the molecular level all the way up to macroscale. The damage process too evolves through this hierarchy (1). Much of the damage process of bone is well understood at the macroscale level (2); however, microscopic and submicroscopic levels of bone damage are still poorly understood.