Abstract
The response of bovine bone to the presence of an implant is analysed with the aim of simulating bone remodelling in a developing model of a polymeric intramedullary interlocking nail for veterinary use. A 3-D finite element model of the femur diaphysis is built based on computed tomography images and using a CAD-based modelling pipeline. The bone remodelling process after the surgery is analysed and compared with the healthy bone. The remodelling law assumes that bone adapts to the mechanical environment. For the analyses a consistent set of loads is determined for the bovine walk cycle. The remodelling results reproduce the morphologic features of bone and provide evidence of the difference on the bone behaviour when comparing metallic and polymeric nails. Our findings indicate that an intramedullary polymeric nail has the advantage over the metallic one of improving long-term bone healing and possibly avoiding the need of the implant removal.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) for the support granted in the context of POCI 2010, of Project Plurianual Base POCTI-SFA-9-76, of Project PTDC/EME-PME/71436/2006 and of PhD grant SFRH/BD/45319/2008. The authors also acknowledge the support granted in the context of Project Capes/Grices 148/06 from FCT and from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior and grants CVZ 836/06 and EDT-506/07 from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais.