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Updated: Jul 3, 2026
Precision Measurements and Parametric Models of Vertebral Endplates
Published on: September 17, 2019
Comparison of computed tomography based parametric and patient-specific finite element models of the healthy and
Meaghan Anne O'Reilly1, Cari Marisa Whyne
1Orthopaedic and Biomechanics Laboratory, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Study Design:
A comparative analysis of parametric and patient-specific finite element (FE) modeling of spinal motion segments.
Objectives:
To develop patient-specific FE models of spinal motion segments using mesh-morphing methods applied to a parametric FE model. To compare strain and displacement patterns in parametric and morphed models for both healthy and metastatically involved vertebrae.
Summary Of Background Data:
Parametric FE models may be limited in their ability to fully represent patient-specific geometries and material property distributions. Generation of multiple patient-specific FE models has been limited because of computational expense. Morphing methods have been successfully used to generate multiple specimen-specific FE models of caudal rat vertebrae.
Methods:
FE models of a healthy and a metastatic T6-T8 spinal motion segment were analyzed with and without patient-specific material properties. Parametric and morphed models were compared using a landmark-based morphing algorithm.
Results:
Morphing of the parametric FE model and including patient-specific material properties both had a strong impact on magnitudes and patterns of vertebral strain and displacement.
Conclusion:
Small but important geometric differences can be represented through morphing of parametric FE models. The mesh-morphing algorithm developed provides a rapid method for generating patient-specific FE models of spinal motion segments.