Numerical-experimental method for the validation of a controlled stiffness femoral prosthesis

The aim of this paper is to describe a new numerical-experimental method to determine the stiffness of a conceptual proximal femoral prototype. The methodology consists of the comparison of the numerical and experimental displacement distributions of the prosthesis loaded as a cantilever beam to validate a design concept: controlled stiffness prosthesis. The manufactured prototype used to test the applicability of the numerical-experimental procedure integrates a stiff metal core bonded to a composite material made of an epoxy resin reinforced with carbon-glass braided pre-forms. The prosthesis with an embedded controlled stiffness concept was obtained by varying the geometry of the core with the composite layer thickness.