[Development of synthetic bone models for the evaluation of fracture fixation devices]

Mechanical tests are indispensable for the research and development of internal devices used for fracture fixation. It is ideal to use fresh human bones even for in vitro experiments. However, fresh human bones are difficult to access, so that alternative materials have been developed. In this study, the applicability of synthetic tibia or femur models made from polyurethane resin (Hiprox) was studied, comparing the mechanical properties of both the synthetic models and the fresh human bones under fracture-fixation conditions using various fixation devices. When the models were designed to simulate the cortical bone with solid resin and the cancellous bone with porous resin, the mechanical properties can be fairly approximated to those of the fresh human bones. It was concluded that the Hiprox models are useful in for preliminary testing of fracture fixation devices.