基于CT数据的人体L3-L4腰椎节段的三维有限元建模和分析

目的 建立一个精确的人体L3-L4腰椎节段有限元模型,用于腰椎生物力学的研究.方法 基于可视人计划(visible human project,VHP)男性冷冻CT数据,通过Marchingcubes算法三维重建L3和L4椎骨的几何模型并转换为有限元网格,然后结合椎间盘和韧带的网格建立L3-L4节段的有限元网格.根据CT值设定材料特性建立有限元模型,施加压缩的边界条件进行有限元分析,并和参考模型的结果比较分析.结果 基于CT的L3-L4节段有限元模型比参考模型更符合腰椎的解剖结构.结论 基于CT的L3-L4节段有限元模型能够精确的描述腰椎解剖结构,保证有限元分析的准确性.     

腹主动脉瘤的自动化分割及其二维网格剖分技术

目的 讨论腹主动脉瘤断层图像的分割方法及其网格剖分技术,建立可用于有限元计算的二维数值分析模型。方法 采用完全基于形态学的方法完成图像中各个部分的分割,针对每个分割得到的闭合曲线,计算其符号距离函数,然后根据各个曲线的集合关系得到一个最终符号距离函数,在这个距离函数和一个平衡关系的控制下不断使用Delaunay算法,当满足平衡关系或者达到设定的条件时,网格划分终止,有限元模型建立完成。结果 实现血管内腔的自动化分割以及血管壁、钙化点等的半自动化分割;对血管内的不同成分划分网格,并可以控制网格的类型和密度;建立血栓与血管壁耦合以及血栓与血管壁、钙化点耦合的两种有限元模型,并进行相关的应力分析。结论 分割过程中不需要复杂的计算且不需要提供初始化曲线,分割快速、准确;网格划分算法可以产生高质量的网格,网格的生成易于控制;产生的网格可用于实际的计算。     

Femoral strain changes after total hip arthroplasty--patient-specific finite element analyses 12 years after operation

Periprosthetic stress-shielding after total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a well-known phenomenon. Many authors have used the finite element (FE) method to show the effects of THA on animal or human femora. In most cases they have performed cadaver experiments. The current project is a FE analysis based on a retrospective computerized tomography (CT) in vivo data set of 11 patients 12 years after THA. In order to control the analysis, a computationally created stem was implanted at the femur model of the not operated contralateral side. In comparison to the not operated side, there was a significant reduction of the strain energy density (SED) values in all regions of interest (ROI) with the greatest effect near the distal tip of the stem. Only zone 1 showed no clear trend which may be due to load application at the greater trochanter causing local strain peaks. The median SED values changed by -31.65% (ROI 1), -25.64% (ROI 2), -30.82% (ROI 3), -12.35% (ROI 4), -40.10% (ROI 5), -30.37% (ROI 6) and -43.38% (ROI 7). As far as we are aware, the current combination of in vivo CT density data with FE strain analyses after THA is based on the largest number of patients and the longest follow-up period. This combination enables analysis and prediction of the influence of implantation upon bone and can be compared with of remodelling theories. The assessment of mechanical strain data during a follow-up trial could be a new approach for analyzing different hip stems in clinical biomechanics.     

Statistical modelling of the whole human femur incorporating geometric and material properties

When analysing the performance of orthopaedic implants the vast majority of computational studies use either a single or limited number of bone models. The results are then extrapolated to the population as a whole, overlooking the inherent and large interpatient variability in bone quality and geometry. This paper describes the creation of a three dimensional, statistical, finite element analysis (FEA) ready model of the femur using principal component analysis. To achieve this a registration scheme based on elastic surface matching and a mesh morphing algorithm has been developed. This method is fully automated enabling registration and generation of high resolution models. The variation in both geometry and material properties was extracted from 46 computer tomography scans and captured by the statistical model. Analysis of mesh quality showed this was maintained throughout the model generation and sampling process. Reconstruction of the training femurs showed 35 eigenmodes were required for accurate reproduction. A set of unique, anatomically realistic femur models were generated using the statistical model, with a variation comparable to that seen in the population. This study illustrates a methodology with the potential to generate femur models incorporating material properties for large scale multi-femur finite element studies.     

Influence of mesh density,cortical thickness and material properties on human rib fracture prediction

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the sensitivity of the structural responses and bone fractures of the ribs to mesh density, cortical thickness, and material properties so as to provide guidelines for the development of finite element (FE) thorax models used in impact biomechanics. Subject-specific FE models of the second, fourth, sixth and tenth ribs were developed to reproduce dynamic failure experiments. Sensitivity studies were then conducted to quantify the effects of variations in mesh density, cortical thickness, and material parameters on the model-predicted reaction force–displacement relationship, cortical strains, and bone fracture locations for all four ribs. Overall, it was demonstrated that rib FE models consisting of 2000–3000 trabecular hexahedral elements (weighted element length 2–3 mm) and associated quadrilateral cortical shell elements with variable thickness more closely predicted the rib structural responses and bone fracture force–failure displacement relationships observed in the experiments (except the fracture locations), compared to models with constant cortical thickness. Further increases in mesh density increased computational cost but did not markedly improve model predictions. A ±30% change in the major material parameters of cortical bone lead to a ?16.7 to 33.3% change in fracture displacement and ?22.5 to +19.1% change in the fracture force. The results in this study suggest that human rib structural responses can be modeled in an accurate and computationally efficient way using (a) a coarse mesh of 2000–3000 solid elements, (b) cortical shells elements with variable thickness distribution and (c) a rate-dependent elastic–plastic material model.     

Establishment of an architecture-specific experimental validation approach for finite element modeling of bone by rapid prototyping and high resolution computed tomography

A new experimental validation method for assessing the accuracy of large-scale finite element (FE) models of bone micro-structure at the apparent and tissue level was developed. Augmented scaled bone replicas were built using rapid prototype machines based on micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) data. The geometric accuracy of the model was evaluated by comparing experimental tests with the replicas to the FE solution based on the same micro-CT data. A new version of the large-scale FE solver was developed to incorporate orthotropic material properties, hence the experimentally determined properties of the rapid prototype material were input into the FE models. The modified FE solver predicted the experimental apparent level stiffness within less than 1%, and the difference between experimental strain gauge measurements and FE-calculated surface stresses was 7% and 49% on a flat and curved surface region, respectively. While absolute error estimates of surface stresses were limited due to strain gauge errors, the relatively larger difference on the curved surface is indicative of the limitations of a hexahedron FE model for representing such geometries. Although the validation approach is applied here for hexahedron based meshes, the method is flexible for varying bone architectures and will be important for validation of future large-scale FE modeling developments that utilize techniques such as mesh smoothing and tetrahedron elements.     

Methods and evaluations of MRI content-adaptive finite element mesh generation for bioelectromagnetic problems

In studying bioelectromagnetic problems, finite element analysis (FEA) offers several advantages over conventional methods such as the boundary element method. It allows truly volumetric analysis and incorporation of material properties such as anisotropic conductivity. For FEA, mesh generation is the first critical requirement and there exist many different approaches. However, conventional approaches offered by commercial packages and various algorithms do not generate content-adaptive meshes (cMeshes), resulting in numerous nodes and elements in modelling the conducting domain, and thereby increasing computational load and demand. In this work, we present efficient content-adaptive mesh generation schemes for complex biological volumes of MR images. The presented methodology is fully automatic and generates FE meshes that are adaptive to the geometrical contents of MR images, allowing optimal representation of conducting domain for FEA. We have also evaluated the effect of cMeshes on FEA in three dimensions by comparing the forward solutions from various cMesh head models to the solutions from the reference FE head model in which fine and equidistant FEs constitute the model. The results show that there is a significant gain in computation time with minor loss in numerical accuracy. We believe that cMeshes should be useful in the FEA of bioelectromagnetic problems.     

基于CT图像的长管骨有限元材料属性研究及实验验证

目的探讨经酒精处理的新鲜人体长管骨个性化材料属性定义的方法,以及骨骼材料数目对有限元结果的影响。方法利用断层扫描CT图片,在Mimics中建立股骨干三维实体模型,然后导入Hypermesh中分割成皮质骨、松质骨以及骨髓;根据相关经验公式分别赋于皮质骨和松质骨的材料参数,设置5组材料数目的不同仿真组;在Abaqus中进行线弹性阶段的压缩实验仿真,并进行体外验证实验。结果端部位移在0～1 mm时,松质骨材料数目为1种,皮质骨材料数目大于10种的整体力-位移有限元仿真结果与实测数据平均相对误差在10%左右;骨干的测量点变形量的有限元结果与实测数据相对误差为14.6%。在小位移下0～0.5 mm时1,种皮质骨材料的整体力-位移的仿真结果与实测数据误差为2.83%。结论 (1)利用CT图片灰度值,可以精确定义骨骼各成份的材料属性;(2)皮质骨材料数目设定对有限元仿真结果影响较大,将皮质骨设定10种即可满足有限元分析需要;(3)小变形时,1种材料的皮质骨就能满足分析要求。     

An improved method for the automatic mapping of computed tomography numbers onto finite element models

The assignment of bone tissue material properties is a fundamental step in the generation of subject-specific finite element models from computed tomography data. Aim of the present work is to investigate the influence of the material mapping algorithm on the results predicted by the finite element analysis. Two models, a coarse and a refined one, of a human ileum, femur and tibia, were generated from CT data and used for the tests. In addition a convergence analysis was carried out for the femur model, using six refinement levels, to verify whether the inclusion of the material properties would significantly alter the convergence behaviour of the mesh. The results showed that the choice of the mapping algorithm influences the material distribution. However, this did not always propagate into the finite element results. The difference between the maximum Von Mises stress remained always lower than 10%, apart one case when it reached the 13%. However, the global behaviour of the meshes showed more marked differences between the two algorithms: in the finer meshes of the two long bones 20-30% of the bone volume showed differences in the predicted Von Mises stresses greater than 10%. The convergence behaviour of the model was not worsened by the introduction of inhomogeneous material properties. The software was made available in the public domain.