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The success of surgical treatment for fractures hinges on various factors, notably accurate surgical indication. The process of developing and certifying a new osteosynthesis device is a lengthy and costly process that requires multiple cycles of review and validation. Current methods, however, often rely on predecessor standards rather than physiological loads in specific anatomical locations. This study aimed to determine actual loads experienced by an osteosynthesis plate, exemplified by a standard locking plate for the femoral shaft, utilizing finite elements analysis (FEA) and to obtain the bending moments for implant development standard tests. A protocol was developed, involving the creation and validation of a fractured femur model fixed with a locking plate, mechanical testing, and FEA. The model's validation demonstrated exceptional accuracy in predicting deformations, and the FEA revealed peak stresses in the fracture bridging zone. Results of a parametric analysis indicate that larger fracture gaps significantly impact implant mechanical behavior, potentially compromising stability. This study underscores the critical need for realistic physiological conditions in implant evaluations, providing an innovative translational approach to identify internal loads and optimize implant designs. In conclusion, this research contributes to enhancing the understanding of implant performance under physiological conditions, promoting improved designs and evaluations in fracture treatments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: [Stryker Corporation supported this study financially and provided the osteosynthesis material and related information of medical approval]., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Musculoskeletal models of the shoulder complex are valuable research aids to investigate tears of the supraspinatus and the resulting mechanical impact during abduction of the humerus. One of the major contributors to this motion is the deltoid muscle group and for this, an accurate modeling of the lines of action is indispensable. The aim of this work was to utilize a torus obstacle wrapping approach for the deltoids of an existing shoulder model and assess the feasibility of the approach during humeral abduction. The shoulder model from the AnyBody™ modeling system was used as a platform. The size of the tori is based on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach and several kinematic couplings are implemented to determine the trajectories of the tori during abduction. To assess the model behavior, the moment arms of the virtual muscle elements and the resultant glenohumeral joint reaction force (GHJF) were compared with reference data from the literature during abduction of the humerus in the range 20°-120°. The root mean square error for the anterior, lateral and posterior part between the simulated muscle elements and reference data from the literature was 3.9, 1.7 and 5.8 mm, respectively. The largest deviation occurred on the outer elements of the muscle groups, with 12.6, 10.4 and 20.5 mm, respectively. During abduction, there is no overlapping of the muscle elements and these are in continuous contact with the torus obstacles, thus enabling a continuous force transmission. This results in a rising trend of the resultant GHJF. The torus obstacle approach as a wrapping method for the deltoid muscles provides a guided muscle pathing by simultaneously approximating the curvature of the deltoid muscle. The results from the comparison of the simulated moment arms and the resultant GHJF are in accordance with those in the literature in the range 20°-120° of abduction. Although this study shows the strength of the torus obstacle as a wrapping approach, the method of fitting the tori according to MRI data was not suitable. A cadaver study is recommended to better validate and mathematically describe the torus approach., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Based on electromyographic data and force measurements within the shoulder joint, there is an indication that muscle and resulting joint reaction forces keep increasing over an abduction angle of 90°. In inverse dynamics models, no single parameter could be attributed to simulate this force behaviour accordingly. The aim of this work is to implement kinematic, kinetic and muscle model modifications to an existing model of the shoulder (AnyBody™) and assess their single and combined effects during abduction up to 140° humeral elevation. The kinematics and the EMG activity of 10 test subjects were measured during humeral abduction. Six modifications were implemented in the model: alternative wrapping of the virtual deltoid muscle elements, utilization of a three element Hill model, strength scaling, motion capture driven clavicle elevation/protraction, translation of the GH joint in dependency of the acting forces and an alteration of the scapula/clavicle rhythm. From the six modifications, 16 different combinations were considered. Parameter combinations with the Hill model changed the resultant GH joint reaction force and led to an increase in force during abduction of the humerus above 90°. Under the premise of muscle activities and forces within the GH joint rising after 90° of humeral abduction, we propose that the Hill type muscle model is a crucial parameter for accurately modelling the shoulder. Furthermore, the outcome of this study indicates that the Hill model induces the co-contraction of the muscles of the shoulder without the need of an additional stability criterion for an inverse dynamics approach., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Musculoskeletal modeling offers an invaluable insight into the spine biomechanics. A better understanding of thoracic spine kinetics is essential for understanding disease processes and developing new prevention and treatment methods. Current models of the thoracic region are not designed for segmental load estimation, or do not include the complex construct of the ribcage, despite its potentially important role in load transmission. In this paper, we describe a numerical musculoskeletal model of the thoracolumbar spine with articulated ribcage, modeled as a system of individual vertebral segments, elastic elements and thoracic muscles, based on a previously established lumbar spine model and data from the literature. The inverse dynamics simulations of the model allow the prediction of spinal loading as well as costal joints kinetics and kinematics. The intradiscal pressure predicted by the model correlated well (R(2)=0.89) with reported intradiscal pressure measurements, providing a first validation of the model. The inclusion of the ribcage did not affect segmental force predictions when the thoracic spine did not perform motion. During thoracic motion tasks, the ribcage had an important influence on the predicted compressive forces and muscle activation patterns. The compressive forces were reduced by up to 32%, or distributed more evenly between thoracic vertebrae, when compared to the predictions of the model without ribcage, for mild thoracic flexion and hyperextension tasks, respectively. The presented musculoskeletal model provides a tool for investigating thoracic spine loading and load sharing between vertebral column and ribcage during dynamic activities. Further validation for specific applications is still necessary., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Musculoskeletal simulations of lumbar spine loading rely on a geometrical representation of the anatomy. However, this data has an inherent inaccuracy. This study evaluates the influence of defined geometrical parameters on lumbar spine loading utilising five parametrised musculoskeletal lumbar spine models for four different postures. The influence of the dimensions of vertebral body, disc, posterior parts of the vertebrae as well as the curvature of the lumbar spine was studied. Additionally, simulations with combinations of selected parameters were conducted. Changes in L4/L5 resultant joint force were used as outcome variable. Variations of the vertebral body height, disc height, transverse process width and the curvature of the lumbar spine were the most influential. These parameters can be easily acquired from X-rays and should be used to morph a musculoskeletal lumbar spine model for subject-specific approaches with respect to bone geometry. Furthermore, the model was very sensitive to uncommon configurations and therefore, it is advised that stiffness properties of discs and ligaments should be individualised., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The fatigue behaviour of materials is of particular interest for the failure prediction of materials and structures exposed to cyclic loading. For trabecular bone structures only a few sets of lifetime data have been reported in the literature and structural measures are commonly not considered. The influence of load contributions which are not aligned with the main physiological axis remains unclear. Furthermore site and species dependent relationships are not well described. In this study five different groups of trabecular bone, defined in terms of orientation, species and site were exposed to cyclic compression. In total, 108 fatigue tests were analysed. The lifetimes were found to decrease drastically when off-axis loads were applied. Additionally, species and site strongly affect fatigue lifetimes. Strains at failure were also found to be a function of orientation.