A biomechanical analysis of unilateral hooked-sulcated external fixator on osteomined tibia

Four tibiae removed from 30-40 years males, who died of accidents in less than 12 hours, were osteomized at medium part. Then these tibiae were fixed by an unilateral hooked-sulcated external fixator (UHSEF), and the bone-fixator system was used as a model of external fixation of tibial fracture. The axial compression, distraction, torsion, antero-posterior and lateral bending rigidity and the strain of the pins were determined in this system. Based on the results, we found that compared with the configuration of four paralleled pins, the rigidity of the fan-like configuration didn't decrease significantly if the angle between lateral and medium pins was less than 45 degrees. But the reverse was true when the frame separation increased from 5 to 8 cm. What' more, the pin strain decreased if the rigidity of the system was improved. These data provided a theoretical basis of biomechanics for the improvement of UHSEF.