Unconstrained testing of spine with bi-axial universal testing machine

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Orthopedic Biomechanics
• Spinal Research

Background:

• In-vitro biomechanical assessment provides critical data on spinal disorders and treatments.
• Specialized spine biomechanics testing devices are valuable but often costly.
• Limited accessibility of advanced equipment hinders research for some groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a novel, low-cost apparatus for spinal biomechanical testing.
• To enable unconstrained (six degree of freedom) testing using a standard universal testing machine.
• To validate the performance of the developed spinal testing fixture.

Main Methods:

• A technical note detailing the design and validation of a spinal testing fixture.
• Testing of intact fresh-frozen human lumbosacral spines (T12-S1).
• Analysis of three-dimensional interlevel rotations (L1-4) during sagittal, lateral bending, and axial rotation.

Main Results:

• The developed fixture successfully produced relative rotation values for the lumbar spine.
• Results were comparable to existing literature values.
• Demonstrated the fixture's capability for unconstrained biomechanical testing.

Conclusions:

• A low-cost spinal fixture was successfully developed and validated.
• The apparatus facilitates unconstrained (6 DOF) biomechanical testing of cadaveric lumbar spines.
• This affordable solution enhances accessibility for spinal research.