Intervertebral Disk Replacement - Keivan Anbarani's Electronic ...

force in the middle of the vertebrae when a person is standing straight and a concentrated
force on the side when bending (Figure 8).
Case Study I: Finite Element Analysis
Figure 7. Natural Loading of the Spine
A study was done by a group of people in Malaysia using Finite Element Analysis
simulating L3-­‐L4 disc arthroplasty. The 3D model was constructed from human
tomography image database and the disc was replaced with an artificial intervertebral disc.
Table 3 contains the material properties that were used in this study.
Table 3. Material Properties
After constructing the models and setting proper material properties, a force of 400
N was then applied at the top of L3 to simulate the natural loading of the spine (Figure 9).
Both models were simulated to perform extension, flexion and lateral bending and the
stress concentration and displacement that were caused by the above mentioned
movements were then compared as shown in Figures 10 and 11.
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