A modified method for assigning material properties to FE models of bones

✍ Scribed by Benedikt Helgason; Fulvia Taddei; Halldór Pálsson; Enrico Schileo; Luca Cristofolini; Marco Viceconti; Sigurður Brynjólfsson

• Book ID: 104048986
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 978 KB
• Volume: 30
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1350-4533
• DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2007.05.006

✦ Synopsis

The aim of the present study is to compare the results from subject-specific finite element analysis (FEA) of a human femur to experimental measurements, using two different methods for assigning material properties to the FE models. A modified material mapping strategy allowing for spatial variation of material properties within the elements and Young's modulus surface corrections is presented and compared to a more conventional strategy, whereby constant material properties are assigned to each element. The accuracy of the superficial stress-strain predictions was evaluated against experimental results from 13 strain gauges and five different load cases. Both methods predicted stresses with acceptable accuracy (R(2) = 0.92, root mean square error, RMSE < 10%), with the conventional method performing slightly better. The modified method performed better in strain prediction (R(2) = 0.85, RMSE = 23% versus R(2) = 0.79, RMSE = 31%).