Imaging and Finite Element Analysis Application on Biomechanical Evaluation of Bone Fracture Case

Abstract

Bone fracture injury is a common problem as of various accidents or other causes. The presence of a bone fracture can easily be identified by imaging such as using a CT scan. However, the dynamic behavior of bones experiencing fractures, especially during the healing period, is rarely well known. The bone itself has the ability to regenerate itself in the context of a healing fracture. However, if the growth of the broken bone is not in the right position, it will result in inhibition of healing or the formation of imperfect bones. Various factors can cause bone disposition caused by loading factors. This paper aims to discuss how the dynamic behavior of fractures is evaluated using imaging techniques and finite element analysis. The biomechanical system evaluation is very important to be able to simulate the condition of the bones due to static loading. Several scenarios of static loading type are performed to simulate the loading propagation and its effect on the spread of stress in the fracture area. Modeling was carried out on a sample of patients who had fractures in the ischium bone due to traffic accidents. The 3-D image data from the patient were taken using a CT scan, which was then processed for the segmentation to separate the study target area from the rest of the body. The segmentation process is carried out to separate the soft tissue and leave only the bone for the simulation process. Other pre-processing such as smoothing and meshing is done to ensure that the FEA can be applied to the object. Simulations on objects are carried out which include simulations of various types of load forces and rotational forces or torque. The simulation result is a stress distribution that covers the area around the fracture and several other parts of the pelvis. From the simulation results, it can be shown that there has been a disposition and accumulation of stress around the fracture area, this can cause an influence on the position of the fracture bone junction and new bone growth in the area. However, to determine how much influence stress has on the mechanism of bone growth, further research is still needed.