Based on the significant number of occurrences and the resulting postsurgical outcomes, hip fractures are a major public health concern. The purpose of this project is to improve the realism and fidelity in computational models of hip fracture and to develop an approach to consider the effects of implant alignment and patient factors on hip fracture repair with an osteosynthesis implant.  

The specific aims of the project are:

1. To predict the fracture patterns in femurs under common injury loading conditions for a series of subjects with varying geometry and bone quality representative of the population
2. To model the repair of hip fractures with intramedullary osteosynthesis devices for the population of subjects from Specific Aim 1, including the impact of variability in implant alignment.
3. To utilize the subject-specific hip fracture repair models to investigate surgical practice

Crack patterns are investigated using XFEM capabilities in Abaqus.  The study proposes to characterize the implant alignment parameters that most significantly influence the bone strain and implant stress distributions, and to recommend implant selection and alignment based on specific patient features in order to realize more optimal load transfer conditions. Additionally, the model findings can aid the surgical community by providing guidance on how implant selection, locking, and rehabilitation protocol influence the distribution of load in the construct. Lastly, the natural modeling can also aid in identifying at-risk populations by identifying the shape and bone quality characteristics of subjects most susceptible to hip fracture.

The research project is supported by the Osteosynthesis and Trauma Care (OTC) Foundation in Switzerland.

 
Example of crack forming in the neck of a femur