Contribution of impactor misalignment to the neurofunctional variability in porcine spinal cord contusion models.

Traumatic spinal cord lesions studies are often carried out with animal models or numerical simulations. Unfortunately, animal models usually present a high variability in severity and type of neurofunctional impairments following impact surgery. We postulate that the variability of outcomes is strongly dependent on the positioning and alignment of the impactor during the contusion.

Automatic detection of spinal injuries under dynamic compressive loading using high-speed cine-radiography.

Every year, new cases of individuals suffering from traumatic spinal injuries are detected. Advances in numerical models have allowed for the understanding of the damage caused by trauma and its impact on the patient's life. However, the kinematics and dynamics of vertebral fracture formation from its point of origin to the speed of propulsion of the fragments remain unknown.

Three-dimensional kinematic evaluation of lateral suture stabilization in an in vitro canine cranial cruciate deficient stifle model.

The impact of surgical correction of cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR) on 3D kinematics has not been thoroughly evaluated in dogs. The success of current techniques remains limited, as illustrated by suboptimal weightbearing and progression of osteoarthritis. The inability to restore the stifle's 3D kinematics might be a key element in understanding these suboptimal outcomes.

Tensile mechanical properties of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar porcine spinal meninges.

Background: The spinal meninges play a mechanical protective role for the spinal cord. Better knowledge of the mechanical behavior of these tissues wrapping the cord is required to accurately model the stress and strain fields of the spinal cord during physiological or traumatic motions. Then, the mechanical properties of meninges along the spinal canal are not well documented.

In vitro assessment of the role of the nucleus pulposus in the mechanism of vertebral body fracture under dynamic compressive loading using high-speed cineradiography.

Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries (TSCI) have a disastrous effect on the physical and mental health of both the patients and their relatives. Around 15 % of these injuries are caused by burst fractures, a sub-type of compressive fractures of the vertebral body. The transient dynamics of these fracture have been studied through in vitro experiments coupled with numerical simulations, but no direct observation have ever been made of their genesis and evolution and the behaviour of the nucleus pulposus under compressive loading has only been hypothesized.