Influence of femur size and morphology on load transfer in the resurfaced femoral head: A large scale, multi-subject finite element study

Rebecca Bryan, Prasanth Nair, Mark Taylor

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    31 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Femoral resurfacing has become an increasingly popular procedure, especially for young, active patients. The procedure is known to alter load transfer through the proximal femur and this has been linked with the most commonly observed complication, neck fracture. An intriguing observation noted by registry data and clinical studies is an inverse relationship between implant size and revision rate. While computational analysis has become an established part of biomedical engineering, the majority of work uses a single or small set of bone models, with a single implant size, due to the constraints of time and data availability. Therefore, it has been infeasible to run a study incorporating natural inter-patient variability or the performance of smaller implants could not be meaningfully studied. In previous work a statistical model of the whole femur was used to generate large numbers of unique, realistic, FE-ready femur models describing both geometry and material properties. The current study demonstrates a methodology for virtually implanting and performing stress analysis of cemented femoral resurfacing components, with model specific sizing and orientation. Automated analysis of 400 generated femurs, in both implanted and intact configurations showed the strain changes induced by resurfacing. This produced a statistically meaningful number of results and allowed the examination of outliers. Results showed increased femoral neck strain changes potentially increasing the risk of neck fracture, associated with smaller, less dense femurs and smaller implant sizes; agreeing with clinical observations. The study demonstrates a methodology for more comprehensive analyses, based on populations rather than individuals.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1952-1958
    Number of pages7
    JournalJournal of Biomechanics
    Volume45
    Issue number11
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 26 Jul 2012

    Keywords

    • Arthroplasty
    • Automated implantation
    • Femoral resurfacing
    • Finite element analysis
    • Statistical model

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Influence of femur size and morphology on load transfer in the resurfaced femoral head: A large scale, multi-subject finite element study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this