Numerical and experimental analysis of biomechanics of three lumbar vertebrae

A three-dimensional numerical model of the human spine including three vertebrae of the lumbar spine (L1, L2, L3) has been built using the ANSYS 5.2 FEM program. Mechanical properties of different elements of the spine have been taken into account, i.e., cortical bone, cancellous bone, posterior elements, etc., in the model. The model allows one to analyse spine displacements under various static and dynamical loads acting on the vertebral structure, as well as it enables one to select proper implants.

For verification purposes, the numerical analysis results having the form of displacements under different loads have been compared with the in-vitro experiment results obtained by other authors.

In addition, a test stand allowing for experimental investigation of displacements of different elements of the spine has been constructed. In the investigation into stiffness, the artificial vertebrae L1, L2, L3 have been used. A good agreement between the results obtained from the numerical analysis and experiments has been achieved.