Evaluation of full pelvic ring stresses using a bilateral static gait-phase finite element modeling method

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Orthopedic Surgery
• Medical Device Design

Background:

• Pelvic trauma often leads to permanent disability and job loss.
• Fixation failures, sometimes due to mobilization during healing, occur in 42% of unsuccessful procedures.
• Current methods lack a comprehensive bilateral evaluation of pelvic fixation considering ambulatory forces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a comprehensive bilateral method for evaluating pelvic fixation.
• To analyze the effects of ambulatory forces on pelvic stress and displacement.
• To provide a basis for improving fixation hardware design.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel method incorporating bilateral factors.
• Creation of four bilateral, static, finite element models.
• Simulation of eight gait phases to analyze stress migration and pubic symphysis displacement.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated stress migration throughout the pelvic ring under simulated ambulatory conditions.
• Quantified pubic symphysis displacements during simulated gait phases.
• Established a comprehensive model for evaluating pelvic fixation under dynamic loading.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a comprehensive bilateral analysis of pelvic fixation.
• The model can be used to evaluate fixation improvements, potentially reducing failures.
• This approach may lead to better implant designs, enabling ambulation during healing.