A combined experimental and finite element analysis of the human elbow under loads of daily living.

Elbow trauma is often accompanied by a loss of independence in daily self-care activities, negatively affecting patients' quality of life. Finite element models can help gaining profound knowledge about native human joint mechanics, which is crucial to adequately restore joint functionality after severe injuries. Therefore, a finite element model of the elbow is required that includes both the radio-capitellar and ulno-trochlear joint and is subjected to loads realistic for activities of daily living.

Experimental validation of a voxel-based finite element model simulating femoroplasty of lytic lesions in the proximal femur.

Femoroplasty is a procedure where bone cement is injected percutaneously into a weakened proximal femur. Uncertainty exists whether femoroplasty provides sufficient mechanical strengthening to prevent fractures in patients with femoral bone metastases. Finite element models are promising tools to evaluate the mechanical effectiveness of femoroplasty, but a thorough validation is required.

Fracture risk assessment and evaluation of femoroplasty in metastatic proximal femurs. An in vivo CT-based finite element study.

The goal of this study was twofold. First, we aimed to evaluate the accuracy of a finite element (FE) model to predict bone fracture in cancer patients with proximal femoral bone metastases. Second, we evaluated whether femoroplasty could effectively reduce fracture risk.

Hip implants can restore anatomical and medialized rotation centres in most cases : a 3D templating study comparing four implantation strategies.

Aims: Hip arthroplasty does not always restore normal anatomy. This is due to inaccurate surgery or lack of stem sizes. We evaluated the aptitude of four total hip arthroplasty systems to restore an anatomical and medialized hip rotation centre.

Mechanical and morphological characterization of PMMA/bone composites in human femoral heads.

PMMA bone cement has gained an important place in a variety of orthopaedic applications in the femur. However, appropriate data on the mechanical properties of bone-cement composites from the human femur are lacking. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the morphological and quasi-static compressive properties of proximal femoral bone-cement composites.

Cemented short-stem total hip arthroplasty: Characteristics of line-to-line versus undersized cementing techniques using a validated CT-based finite element analysis.

Short stems are becoming increasingly popular in total hip arthroplasty as they preserve the bone stock and simplify the implantation process. Short stems are advised mainly for patients with good bone stock. The clinical use of short stems could be enlarged to patients with poor bone stock if a cemented alternative would be available.

Finite element models for fracture prevention in patients with metastatic bone disease. A literature review.

Patients with bone metastases have an increased risk to sustain a pathological fracture as lytic metastatic lesions damage and weaken the bone. In order to prevent fractures, prophylactic treatment is advised for patients with a high fracture risk. Mechanical stabilization of the femur can be provided through femoroplasty, a minimally invasive procedure where bone cement is injected into the lesion, or through internal fixation with intra- or extramedullary implants.

Nonlinear voxel-based finite element model for strength assessment of healthy and metastatic proximal femurs.

Nonlinear finite element (FE) models can accurately quantify bone strength in healthy and metastatic femurs. However, their use in clinical practice is limited since state-of-the-art implementations using tetrahedral meshes involve a lot of manual work for which specific modelling software and engineering knowledge are required. Voxel-based meshes could enable the transition since they are robust and can be highly automated.

Cement augmentation of metastatic lesions in the proximal femur can improve bone strength.

Prophylactic treatment is advised for metastatic bone disease patients with a high risk for fracture. Femoroplasty provides a minimally invasive procedure to stabilize the femur by injecting bone cement into the lesion. However, uncertainty remains whether it provides sufficient mechanical strength to the weight-bearing femur.

Effect of anatomical variability on stress-shielding induced by short calcar-guided stems: Automated finite element analysis of 90 femora.

Short stem hip implants are becoming increasingly popular since they preserve bone stock and presumably reduce stress-shielding. However, concerns remain whether they are suitable for a wide range of patients with varying anatomy. The aim of this study was to investigate how femoral anatomy influences stress-shielding induced by a short calcar-guided stem across a set of 90 CT-based femur models.