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Study of the biomechanical behaviour of structurally stable/unstable motion segments of the sheep spine
Author(s) -
Strampe Malte,
Stoffel Marcus,
Weichert Dieter,
Sellei Richard Martin,
Pape HansChristoph
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pamm
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1617-7061
DOI - 10.1002/pamm.201210040
Subject(s) - viscoelasticity , diffusion , intervertebral disc , anisotropy , nonlinear system , materials science , damper , instability , mechanics , relaxation (psychology) , bioreactor , biomedical engineering , structural engineering , composite material , chemistry , physics , anatomy , engineering , biology , thermodynamics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , organic chemistry
The effects of damage of intervertebral discs on their biomechanical behaviour and the factors favouring the progression of instability are studied. Healthy and damaged movement segments are analyzed experimentally and numerically. The aim is to represent and predict the effects of tissue damage and changes in the spine by comparison with healthy segments. Since the intervertebral disc acts as a mechanical damper, relaxation tests are performed in addition to pressure experiments. The experiments are carried out in a bioreactor with tempered nutrient solution. A cultivation period in the bioreactor allows detecting cell viability, solute diffusion rates and gene expression of the discs. Numerically, the nonlinear, viscoelastic, anisotropic and diffusion‐dependent behaviour of the intervertebral disc is modelled with the FE‐program Abaqus, using a modular material law as a UMAT subroutine. With the measurement results, the relevant parameters can be determined so that the mechanical behaviour of intervertebral discs can be simulated. (© 2012 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)