척추 수술시 요추의 유한요소해석

Finite Element Analysis of Lumbar Spine under Surgical Condition

We study the fracture behavior of the lumbar No.4 and No.5 vertebra subjected to posteroanterior (PA) forces, a three dimensional finite element method (FEM). The lumbar spine was modeled 3-dimensionally using commercial software based on the principle of convert stacked two dimensional CT scan images into three dimensional shapes. Determination of the boundary conditions corresponding to actual surgical conditions was not easy, so that the simplified spine beam analyses were performed. The results were used in three dimensional finite element (FE) analysis. This FE analysis, indicates that the fracture loads of the lumbar No.4 and No.5 vertebra are respectively 1550 N and 1500 N. These fracture loads are for static loading, but in actual conditions the load on the lumbar spine varies dynamically. We found that the fracture load of lumbar No.4 vertebra is larger than that of lumbar No.5 vertebra, as a result of the total stress difference by the moment.