Stress distribution on proximal ulna with implant

• Main Author: Chua, Chui Khim
• Other Authors: Poh Chueh Loo
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/61118
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Problems associate with total elbow replacement include infection, poor function, pain, fracture, stiffness or instability of joints, loosening or wear of the artificial parts and failure of the triceps tendon. The presence of the abnormal stress could be the factor that resulted in aseptic loosening. This project examined the stress distribution between the intact ulna and implanted ulna. Three different forces, Axial Anteroposterior (AP) compression, Anteroposterior compression with the magnitude of 1N applied and 1N-cm on the torsion were applied. These reaction forces are the main responsible for the loosening of the elbow prosthesis. From the results obtained, it was found that the stress experienced by the insertion of the implant has the most impact on the cortical bone as compared to intact ulna, with an increase of nine-fold when the AP compression force is applied, followed by the axial compression force which is 2.5 times as high as compared to the intact model. This could be an indication that leading to the component loosening. However, the stress is not altered when the torsion is not applied.