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Validation efforts and flexibilities of an eight-year-old human juvenile lumbar spine using a three‐dimensional finite element model

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop a finite element model of the lumbar spinal column of an eight-year-old human spine and compare flexibilities under pure moments, adult, and pediatric loading with different material models. The geometry was extracted from computed tomography scans. The model included the cortical and cancellous bones, growth plates, ligaments, and discs. Adult, adolescent, and pediatric material models were used. Flexion (8 Nm), extension (6 Nm), lateral bending (6 Nm), and axial rotation (4 Nm) moments representing adult loads were applied to the three material models. Pediatric loading (0.5 Nm) was applied under these loadings to the eight-year-old spine using adult and pediatric material models. Flexibilities depended on spinal level, loading mode, and material model. Outputs incorporating the pediatric material model responded with increased flexibilities compared to the adult and adolescent material models, with one exception. This was true for the adult and pediatric loading conditions. While the sagittal and coronal bending responses were not considerably different between the adult and pediatric loadings, axial rotation responses were greater under the adult loading. This model may be used to determine intrinsic responses, such as stresses and strains, for improved characterizations of the juvenile spine behavior.

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Abbreviations

AG:

Adult geometry

PG:

Pediatric geometry

AM:

Adult material model

DM:

Adolescent material model

PM:

Pediatric material model

AL:

Adult loading

PL:

Pediatric loading

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Acknowledgments

The first author gratefully acknowledges the support of AICTE, New Delhi through their NDF Fellowship. The authors thank Rishi Mugesh Kanna, MS, MRCS, Ganga Hospitals, Coimbatore, India, for his suggestions in the text. The guidance of Prof. Raghu Natarajan, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA, during the initial phase of this study is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AU‐FRG Institute for CAD/CAM, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anna University, Chennai, 600025, India

    D. Davidson Jebaseelan & Chidambaram Jebaraj

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Narayan Yoganandan

  3. Department of Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery, Ganga Hospitals P Ltd., Coimbatore, India

    S. Rajasekaran

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  1. D. Davidson Jebaseelan
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  2. Chidambaram Jebaraj
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  3. Narayan Yoganandan
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  4. S. Rajasekaran
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Correspondence to Chidambaram Jebaraj.

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Jebaseelan, D.D., Jebaraj, C., Yoganandan, N. et al. Validation efforts and flexibilities of an eight-year-old human juvenile lumbar spine using a three‐dimensional finite element model. Med Biol Eng Comput 48, 1223–1231 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-010-0691-1

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