Characterizing the Mechanical Behaviour of the Human Pelvis Through Finite Element Analysis

In the human musculoskeletal system, the pelvis functions as a crucial transfer point for upper body loads to the lower extremities. Existing treatments in the field of pelvic reconstructive surgery do not account for versatile structural differences in pelvic geometries and variations in pelvic bone properties. This thesis aims to develop a novel approach to facilitate and automate the creation of multiple specimen-specific finite element (FE) models of the pelvis and to utilize these models to characterize mechanical behavior of the pelvis, under healthy and pathologic conditions. Robust generation of pelvic FE models is necessary to understand variations in mechanical behaviour resulting from differences in gender, aging, disease, and injury. A new semi-automated landmark-based FE morphing and mapping approach was developed for pelvic FE model generation without the need for segmentation. A cohort of specimen-specific pelvic FE models was generated using the new approach and the models were validated against experimental data in double leg stance configuration. The validated cohort of specimen-specific pelvic FE models was utilized to examine pelvic strains at different phases of the gait cycle (double leg stance, heel-strike/heel-off and midstance/midswing). The FE models revealed that the strain patterns throughout the pelvic structure between the double leg stance and heel-strike/heel-off configurations are not significantly different, whereas a significant difference was found in the midstance/midswing configuration. The morphing methodology was further extended to generate pelvic FE models of different shapes and to analyze their biomechanical behaviour. A significant difference was found in the strain patterns between the android (classic male shape) and gynecoid (classic female shape) pelvises. Finally, a specimen-specific pelvic FE model of an open book fracture was developed and validated against experimental data. The strain patterns identified in the fractured model aligned with the clinical understanding of open book fracture pathology. Overall, the findings of this thesis provide new understandings into the complex biomechanical behaviour of the human pelvis. This work creates a platform for more complex future FE modeling investigations to continue to study the behaviour of this multifaceted skeletal structure.

Year	Entry
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Year

Entry

1995

Dalstra M, Huiskes R, van Erning L. Development and validation of a three-dimensional finite element model of the pelvic bone. J Biomech Eng. August 1995;117(3):272-278.

2006

Hardisty MR. Strain Measurement in Vertebral Bodies by Image Registration [Master's thesis]. University of Toronto; 2006.

2000

Couteau B, Payan Y, Lavallée S. The mesh-matching algorithm: an automatic 3d mesh generator for finite element structures. J Biomech. August 2000;33(8):1005-1009.

2004

Taddei F, Pancanti A, Viceconti M. An improved method for the automatic mapping of computed tomography numbers onto finite element models. Med Eng Phys. 2004;26(1):61-69.

2005

Anderson AE, Peters CL, Tuttle BD, Weiss JA. Subject-specific finite element model of the pelvis: development, validation and sensitivity studies. J Biomech Eng. June 2005;127(3):365-373.