News in bone modeling for customized hybrid biological prostheses development

The complex biomechanics and morphologies of the femur proximal epiphysis are presented. The nature and fine morphology of the femur head and its structural behavior have been investigated. Isotropic and orthotropic trabecular structures have been associated with oriented compression and tensioned areas of the femur head FEM models. These isotropic/orthotropic trabecular morphologies and their allocations govern the stress and strain distribution in the overall proximal femur region. Finite element models of the femur biofidel were developed using a specific combination of segmentation with computed tomography and solid modeling tools capable of representing bone physiology and structural behavior. This biofidel Finite Element (FEM) model is used to evaluate the change in the physiological distribution of stress in the femoral prosthesis and to evaluate the new design criteria for biopsy. The use of femur proper biofidel modeling while enabling the explanation of physiological stress distribution elucidates the critical mechanical role of the trabecular bone that should be accounted for in the design new innovative more “biologic” prosthetic system. Biomimetics, biomechanics and tissue engineering are three multidisciplinary fields that have been considered in this research to achieve the goal of improving the reliability of prosthetic implants. The authors took these studies to gather the untapped potential of such advanced materials and design technologies by developing finite models of Biofidel elements capable of correctly mimicking the biomechanical behavior of the femur.