Patient-specific modelling of the foot: automated hexahedral meshing of the bones

Abstract

Subject-specific finite element modelling is a powerful tool for carrying out controlled investigations of the effects of geometric and material property differences on performance and injury risk. Unfortunately, the creation of suitable meshes for these models is a challenging and time-intensive task. This paper presents an automated method of generating fully hexahedral meshes of the bones of the feet which requires only surface representations as inputs. The method is outlined and example meshes, using two human feet and the foot of a Japanese macaque, are given to demonstrate its flexibility. Mesh quality is also evaluated for the calcaneus, first metatarsal, navicular and talus. Streamlining the generation of finite element meshes of the foot will ease investigations into the patient-specific biomechanics of injury.

Keywords::

• finite element method
• subject-specific meshing
• hexahedral mesh
• human foot

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the NFL and the members of the Foot and Ankle Subcommittee of the NFL for funding, supporting and providing valuable input to this study. The authors also gratefully acknowledge Prof. Naomichi Ogihara, of Keio University, for providing the CT images of the Japanese macaque foot.