The tech behind 200+ published studies
Cyclic and impact microindentation, known together as reference point indentation (RPI), have been used by independent research groups for more than two decades to investigate bone material properties in vivo and ex vivo, in animals and humans — across metabolic bone disease, endocrinology, orthopedics, exercise science, and pharmacology.
If you’re designing a study that needs a direct, repeatable measure of bone tissue quality, this page covers what the BioDent® & OsteoProbe® measure, how they have been used, and how to get a device of for your research.What OsteoProbe® measures
OsteoProbe® performs impact microindentation on the anterior tibial cortex and quantifies the tissue’s resistance to indentation. The output is the Bone Material Strength Index (BMSi) or BoneScore®.
Unlike densitometry or imaging-based methods, BMSi reflects the mechanical behavior of bone tissue itself rather than its mass, geometry, or microarchitecture — which makes it complementary to DXA, HR-pQCT, and QCT rather than duplicative.
Why it’s used in research
It measures a property other tools don’t
Studies pairing BMSi with HR-pQCT have found that BMSi changes occur independently of volumetric BMD and microarchitecture — it captures variance other instruments miss.It responds quickly
BMSi has shown measurable change within 7 weeks of pharmacological intervention and within 3 months of a mechanical loading intervention. For intervention studies, that shortens follow-up windows considerably.It’s radiation-free
No dosimetry constraints, no cumulative-exposure limits on repeat measures, and a simpler ethics pathway for longitudinal and healthy-volunteer designs.It’s portable
Handheld and battery-operated — usable in field studies, multi-site protocols, and populations that can’t easily travel to a scanner.Where it’s been applied
Recent work includes direct biomechanical validation against whole-bone strength and fracture toughness across multiple skeletal sites.1 Published work using impact microindentation spans:
- Metabolic bone disease — osteoporosis, atypical femoral fracture, fracture on therapy
- Secondary osteoporosis — type 1 and type 2 diabetes, glucocorticoid-induced, CKD, post-transplant, HIV
- Pharmacological intervention — bisphosphonates, teriparatide, denosumab, romosozumab
- Exercise and mechanical loading — high-impact training interventions
- Orthopedics — fixation, implant-related bone quality
- Comparative and preclinical — animal models and ex vivo work
Methodological considerations
We’d rather you design a good study than a fast one. A few things worth knowing up front:
- Measurement protocol matters. BMSi is sensitive to operator technique, probe placement, and the number of indentations averaged. Published protocols vary; we recommend reviewing the methodology of studies closest to your design before finalizing yours.
- Reference values are population-dependent. BMSi distributions differ by age, sex, and comorbidity. Control-group design matters more than an absolute cutoff.
- Cross-study comparison requires care. Differences in device generation, probe type, and protocol mean BMSi values aren’t always directly comparable between publications.
- The evidence base is largely associative. Most published work demonstrates group differences or intervention response, not prospective fracture prediction. If your study is powered for outcomes, that’s a genuine contribution to a real gap in the literature.
What we can support
Research pricing
On devices and consumables.
Training
On measurement protocol for study staff.
Protocol consultation
We’re happy to review a draft methods section.
Multi-site coordination
For distributed studies.
Literature support
Help identifying prior work relevant to your design.
Investigator-initiated studies
Proposals welcome.
For medical device companies, CROs and labs
OsteoProbe® and BioDent® are used by academic labs, medical device R&D teams and contract research organizations. We offer three ways to work together: equipment for your lab, a study-specific method, or microindentation testing performed by our team.
OsteoProbe is used in vivo in humans at any skeletal site, including the tibia, shoulder, hip and spine, and in animals, and ex vivo on cadaver and animal bone. Published work includes a multi-centre healthy-adult reference study and a cadaver study relating tibial BMSi to whole-bone strength. Uses outside the cleared indication are investigational and need appropriate IRB or IACUC review.
BioDent measures living animals in vivo, and bone, cartilage and any soft tissue or material ex vivo or in vitro. Published work includes human osteoarthritic cartilage and mouse articular cartilage, as well as intervertebral disc and bone from many species.
Tell us your tissue or material, your research question, sample count, the outputs your team needs and your timeline. We’ll recommend equipment, a method, or testing by our team.
Citing OsteoProbe or BioDent in your work
When you describe the instrument in your methods section, please use:
OsteoProbe® (Active Life Scientific, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, USA; bonescore.com)
BioDent™ reference point indentation system (Active Life Scientific, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, USA; bonescore.com)
For the standard OsteoProbe measurement procedure, cite: Diez-Perez A, et al. Technical note: Recommendations for a standard procedure to assess cortical bone at the tissue-level in vivo using impact microindentation. Bone Reports. 2016.
Published a paper using OsteoProbe or BioDent? Send us the DOI and we’ll add it to our publications list.
Regulatory note for study designers
OsteoProbe is FDA-cleared (De Novo DEN210013; 510(k) K250216) as a measurement tool for assessing bone tissue resistance to microindentation at the tibia in adults, reported as BMSi.2 It is not cleared for diagnosing disease, predicting fracture risk, or guiding treatment.
For research use, your IRB will want the cleared indication and the current safety profile — both of which are available in our documentation package. Studies investigating uses beyond the cleared indication may require additional regulatory consideration.
Tell us about your study design
We’ll route you to the right resources — pricing, protocol guidance, or prior literature.
What BioDent™ measures
BioDent™ is a unique microindentation system designed to measure a wide range of tissue and material samples in vivo or ex vivo. It is a cyclic microindenter that captures complete force-displacement curves that can be analyzed to determine intrinsic mechanical properties, providing insights into bone quality:- Loading and Unloading Slopes: relative measures of material stiffness.
- Indentation Distances: relative measures of fracture resistance.
- Energy Dissipation: relative measure of material flexibility.
What makes BioDent™ different
BioDent and OsteoProbe are both based on Reference Point Indentation (RPI). RPI is a novel technology developed and solely distributed by Active Life Scientific, Inc. that directly assesses bone material quality and fragility in-vivo or in-situ.
Unlike imaging techniques that use radiation to measure the mineral content of bone (density and structure), RPI physically interacts with the tissue to measure how well the mineral and organic (collagen, non-collagenous proteins, etc.) function together.
This enables RPI to be sensitive to elements of bone strength that imaging techniques miss, like how mineralized collagen fibrils can dissipate energy without severing.
Why it’s used in research
Using the RPI principle, BioDent™ is a highly configurable bench-top platform that measures material properties at the tissue level by indenting a test probe into a material to record force and displacement data.
Typically, BioDent™ calculates 9 parameters related to the material properties of tissue or other relatively hard materials that reflect stiffness and energy dissipation of the tissue or material.
It can be used ex-vivo or in-vivo, for longitudinal measurements.
Laboratory animals are often sacrificed and assessed by 3- or 4-point bending techniques. These ex-vivo methods yield data on the stiffness, elasticity and maximum load of bones but are limited to one time point.
BioDent’s ability to measure animals in-vivo in a safe, minimally invasive manner allows for research opportunities that were previously not possible, as well as reduce the number of animals that are needed to complete a longitudinal study.
References
- Vaidya RS, et al. Impact microindentation evaluates bone strength, bone quality, and fracture susceptibility across skeletal sites: a cadaver study. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 2026 (accepted). View source →
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. De Novo classification DEN210013; 510(k) K250216 (OsteoProbe). View source →
Tell us about your pre-clinical study design
We’ll route you to the right resources — pricing, protocol guidance, or prior literature.
Q1. What does OsteoProbe measure?
In clinical use, OsteoProbe performs impact microindentation on the anterior tibial cortex; in research it is used at any skeletal site. It measures how well the bone tissue resists indentation. The result is the Bone Material Strength index (BMSi), a unitless score referenced against a standard material at every session. BMSi reflects the mechanical behavior of bone tissue, not its mass, geometry or microarchitecture.
Q2. How is BMSi different from DXA, HR-pQCT or QCT?
DXA, HR-pQCT and QCT image bone to estimate its mineral content and structure. BMSi measures the tissue’s mechanical resistance directly, so it complements those tools rather than duplicating them. Studies pairing BMSi with HR-pQCT have found BMSi changes that occur independently of volumetric BMD and microarchitecture.
Q3. What is the difference between OsteoProbe and BioDent?
Both are based on reference point indentation (RPI) and are developed and solely distributed by Active Life Scientific, Inc. (BoneScore). OsteoProbe is a handheld impact microindenter that reports BMSi, used in vivo in humans at any skeletal site, including the tibia, shoulder, hip and spine, and in animals, and ex vivo on cadaver and animal bone. BioDent is a benchtop cyclic microindenter that records complete force-displacement curves on bone, cartilage, any soft tissue, dentin and engineered materials.
Q4. What can BioDent measure?
BioDent measures living animals in vivo, and bone, cartilage and any soft tissue or material, from human or animal sources, ex vivo or in vitro. It typically reports 9 parameters reflecting stiffness and energy dissipation, and repeated in vivo measurement has been shown in dogs, rats and mice, so the same animal can be tested over time.
Q5. Is OsteoProbe FDA-cleared, and what will my IRB need?
OsteoProbe is FDA-cleared (De Novo DEN210013; 510(k) K250216) as a measurement tool for assessing bone tissue resistance to microindentation at the tibia in adults, reported as BMSi. It is not cleared for diagnosing disease, predicting fracture risk, or guiding treatment. For research use, your IRB will want the cleared indication and the current safety profile, both of which are available in our documentation package. Studies investigating uses beyond the cleared indication may require additional regulatory consideration.
Q6. Does OsteoProbe use radiation?
No. OsteoProbe uses no ionizing radiation, so there are no dosimetry limits on repeat measures. That makes it practical for longitudinal and healthy-volunteer study designs.
Q7. Is there a standard measurement protocol?
Yes. A consensus technical note published in Bone Reports in 2016 (Diez-Perez et al.) sets out a standard procedure for measuring cortical bone in vivo with impact microindentation, to keep results consistent across operators and centres. We also train study staff on the measurement protocol.
Q8. Are there published reference values for BMSi?
Yes. A multi-centre international study of 479 healthy adults aged 25–98, at seven centres, published BMSi reference intervals (Rufus-Membere et al., Calcified Tissue International, 2023). BMSi distributions differ by age, sex and comorbidity, so control-group design still matters.
Q9. Can BMSi detect change after an intervention?
Published trials have used BMSi as an outcome. In one 3-month intervention study, high-impact mechanical loading increased BMSi in postmenopausal women (Sundh et al., Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2018). Most published work shows group differences or intervention response, not prospective fracture prediction.
Q10. Can OsteoProbe be used at other skeletal sites, in animals or on cadaver bone?
Yes. In research, OsteoProbe is used in vivo in humans at any skeletal site, including the shoulder, hip and spine, as well as in living animals and ex vivo on cadaver and animal bone. These uses are outside the cleared indication and are investigational, so they need appropriate IRB or IACUC review. Ex vivo testing is also feasible.
Q11. Can your team run the testing for us?
Yes. Along with equipment and method support, we offer microindentation testing performed by our team for academic labs, medical device companies and CROs. Tell us your tissue or material, sample count, the outputs you need and your timeline.
Q12. What support do you offer researchers?
Research pricing on devices and consumables, training on measurement protocol for study staff, review of a draft methods section, multi-site coordination, help finding relevant prior literature, and consideration of investigator-initiated study proposals.
Q13. Do you review or control publications from independent research?
No. We do not require review of, or control over, publications resulting from independent research. The strength of this evidence base comes from its independence.
Q14. Do you ship outside the US?
Yes. OsteoProbe and BioDent ship to research sites worldwide. Contact us for pricing and lead times in your country.
Q15. How do I request research pricing?
Use our contact form and choose “A researcher requesting a device or protocol help.” Tell us your study population or specimen, research question, planned setting, and whether you need an instrument, protocol discussion or collaboration.