A comparison between cannulated and non-cannulated cancellous screws used in the fixation of a simulated femoral neck fracture : a finite element study

• Main Author: Suryanto
• Other Authors: Chou Siaw Meng
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Surgical assistive technology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/141295
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

As people are growing older, they become prone to fall-related injuries. Fall injuries with weaker bone due to osteoporosis would easily lead to hip fracture and disabilities. One of the prevalent hip fractures is an intracapsular fracture or femoral neck fracture. Although there are different treatment methods available for femoral neck fractures, internal cancellous screw fixation would be considered as treatment choice especially in demented patient group as it is a smaller operation with less complications compared to other major surgical procedures and considered safer. As cannulated screw is easier to be guided and gives the advantage of more reproducible fixations, it is more widely used. The aim of this project was to analyse and compare the fixation of cannulated and non-cannulated cancellous screws in femoral neck fracture. The study was done with the use of finite element analysis (FEA) on fourth generation composite bones, Sawbones model #3403 with modified properties simulating osteoporotic bone. The study focused on Pauwels’ type II with fracture angle 50°. Prior to the comparison of cannulated and non-cannulated screws, different set-up simulations were conducted to identify the right parameter for simulation. The result of the study suggests that non-cannulated screws were able to withstand higher vertical load and possess higher axial stiffness when compared to cannulated screws.