Segmentation and Fe modelling of C3, C4 and C5 vertebrae for biomechanical analysis

• Main Author: Ahmad Tarmidzi Abdul Rahman
• Other Authors: Teo Ee Chon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/74560
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Numerical simulation is widely used in different field such as aerospace, building construction and automotive industries. Its use has been expanded into biomechanics as there is an increasing trend of utilizing numerical simulation in many orthopaedic study in recent years. The effectiveness of numerical simulation has been proven to be safer, faster and reliable as an alternative tool for orthopaedic study. Given the nature of numerical simulation, repetitive and extensive testing can be conducted without the apprehension of damage to the specimen. Before conducting any form of computational analysis, a finite element model of the structure has to be generated first. Therefore, the aim of this study is to generate a 3D model of C3 to C5 cervical spine and to validate it against prior orthopaedic study. The finite element model of C3 to C5 vertebra of a 50-year-old male Caucasian were developed using ANSYS 16.2 mechanical APDL software and the mechanical behaviour of the generated cervical vertebra was used to study under various loading conditions with the specified boundary conditions as mentioned in the previous research paper. Previous orthopaedic study conducted analysis on stacked vertebrae with inclusion of soft tissues; ligaments and intervertebral discs. However, there is an absence of data on individual mechanical behaviour of the vertebrae. Furthermore, hexahedral elements will be utilized in meshing procedure as opposed to unstructured tetrahedral meshing by multiple previous numerical study of the vertebrae. This study will provide insights into this research gap while obeying closely to the material properties, boundary and loading conditions in previous study for validation purposes. This report concludes with the validation of the generated models of C3 to C5 models against past works from Wheeldon et. al. (2004 & 2008) under flexion, extension and lateral bending. The results obtained exhibits similar mechanical behaviour to both studies.