ARUP; ISBN: 978-0-9562121-5-3 - CMBBE 2012 - Cardiff University

affected by two reduction coefficients, the first one coupled with the circumferential
position and the second one with the radial position of a given fiber on the AF. As a
result, an anatomically-based gradient of the mechanical properties of the AF is defined,
with clear advantages in terms of significance of the modeling and validity of the
numerical results of the numerical analysis of the biomechanics of the IVD. The
preliminary results seem to be in good agreement with the work of Sato et al. (1999).
7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the European Project: NP Mimetic -
Biomimetic Nano-Fiber Based Nucleus Pulposus Regeneration for the Treatment of
Degenerative Disc Disease, funded by the European Commission under FP7 (grant
NMP3-SL-2010-246351).
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