Streamlined and efficient patient-specific modeling for lumbar spine segmentation and finite element analysis

Advancing our understanding of spinal biomechanics through Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is essential for clinical decision-making and biomechanical research. Traditional FEA workflows are hindered by manual segmentation and meshing, introducing inconsistencies, user variability, and lengthy processing times. This study presents a streamlined, patient-specific modeling methodology for the lumbar spine that fundamentally transforms the FEA preprocessing pipeline. By integrating deep learning-based segmentation with advanced computational tools such as the GIBBON library and FEBio, our approach minimizes manual intervention, accelerates model preparation, and enhances both accuracy and reproducibility. The proposed workflow enables precise extraction and meshing of key anatomical structures including cortical and cancellous bone, intervertebral discs, ligaments, and cartilage directly from clinical CT imaging data. Robust segmentation techniques ensure accurate identification and separation of these components, which are subsequently converted into high-resolution surface and volumetric meshes. To optimize model fidelity and computational efficiency, the pipeline incorporates geometric smoothing and adaptive mesh decimation. Ligament attachment is addressed through an innovative coordinate-based framework that leverages anatomical landmarks for automated placement and orientation, overcoming a major challenge in FEA preprocessing. The results demonstrate that the resulting subject-specific models reproduce physiological biomechanics with high fidelity. Range of Motion and stress distribution outcomes closely match experimental data and established numerical models, confirming the pipeline's accuracy. Importantly, preparation time is reduced from days to just hours, delivering an efficient, reproducible workflow. By unifying segmentation, meshing, and ligament modeling in a single efficient framework, this study establishes a scalable platform for rapid, reliable, and anatomically accurate FEA of the lumbar spine, with significant implications for clinical diagnostics and preoperative planning.