This computational work addresses three orthopedic research problems: simulating bone adaptation around an implant; calculating electric fields induced in bone by exogenous magnetic fields; and quantifying fluid flow in a mechanically loaded bone. Simulating bone adaptation is accomplished by applying physiological loads and constraints to a finite element model of the canine distal femur and using a bone remodeling finite element program to model the changes in porosity and architecture of the bone surrounding an implant experimentally inserted in the femur. The remodeling finite element code has successfully been used on the C90, and additional runs are needed to further explore the effects of different loading conditions on the resulting bone adaptation. The electric field problem is part of a project that is aimed at relating bone adaptation to electric field intensity to find a relationship between the applied fields and the biological response in a turkey model. Codes utilizing the finite element method and the finite difference method will be explored to find an optimal way to quantify the induced electric fields in a turkey wing that is exposed to a time-varying magnetic field. For the problem of fluid flow in bone, the interaction between the bone fluid and the bone matrix will be investigated using a finite element model also based upon a turkey model. First a finite element model of a bone mechanically loaded to mimic experimental loading conditions will be run to calculate displacements and strains on the bone-organ level. These displacements and strains will then be used as boundary conditions for a bone-tissue model that includes the small bone channels through which bone fluid flows. A finite element code that induces fluid-structure interaction will be investigated.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 292 publications
