[Fast automated finite element mesh generation of residual lower limb for clinical application]

Objective. To develop a model of fast automated mesh generation of residual lower limb for clinical application. Method. Actual geometry of the bone was represented as a standard pretreated model of bone, which was auto-located by employing an affine scaling transformation. Hexahedral or wedge elements were constructed by joining quadrilateral or triangular meshes generated by graph partitioning method and transport-mapping method from successive planar cross sections. Result. A model of fast automated mesh generation of residual lower limb was developed, which can be applied to different amputee and ensure the geometric integrality of bone. Auto-location of the bone was carried out. The mesh refinement can be controlled to adapt to different computational efficiency. The generated elements are hexahedral or wedge elements, both of which are more precise than tetrahedral element. Conclusion. The present method could be applied in finite element analysis method for prosthetic socket designing. Radioactive damage from those techniques such as CT or MRI to the amputee and the difficulty in image processing could be avoided.