A subject-specific pelvic bone model and its application to cemented acetabular replacements.

Abstract

A subject-specific three-dimensional finite element (FE) pelvic bone model has been developed and applied to the study of bone-cement interfacial response in cemented acetabular replacements. The pelvic bone model was developed from CT scan images of a cadaveric pelvis and validated against the experiment data obtained from the same specimen at a simulated single-legged stance. The model was then implanted with a cemented acetabular cup at selected positions to simulate some typical implant conditions due to the misplacement of the cup as well as a standard cup condition. For comparison purposes, a simplified FE model with homogeneous trabecular bone material properties was also generated and similar implant conditions were examined. The results from the homogeneous model are found to underestimate significantly both the peak von Mises stress and the area of the highly stressed region in the cement near the bone-cement interface, compared with those from the subject-specific model. Non-uniform cement thickness and non-standard cup orientation seem to elevate the highly stressed region as well as the peak stress near the bone-cement interface.