Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Gerber Thesis Final.pdf (3.55 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Biomechanical Evaluation of Facet Bone Dowels in the Lumbar Spine

Gerber, Joel M
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1438959810

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Science, University of Toledo, Bioengineering.
The lumbar spine is associated with a number degenerative conditions and pathologies: stenosis, spondylolisthesis, spondylolysis, facet joint syndrome, and zygapophyseal joint osteoarthritis. The most effective treatment for these conditions often involves a surgical fusion of the affected spinal segment. One method of fusing the spine is through modification of the zygapophyseal joint using facet bone dowels, however this method has not been fully researched. The current study looked at the effectiveness of these types of implants, specifically the TruFuse implant, the Z-Lift implant, and a novel morphology conforming implant. The study was performed in two parts: an in vitro experimentation and a finite element analysis. The in vitro portion consisted of instrumenting functional spinal units with the various implants and comparing the intact and instrumented range of motion under multiple loading conditions. The functional spinal units were loaded to 10 Nm under flexion, extension, left and right lateral bending, left and right axial rotation, and flexion / extension with a 400 N preload. The finite element models were used to analyze the range of motion of the instrumented spinal segments, as well as to quantify the reduction in intradiscal pressure after instrumentation. The stresses in the facets and the change in foraminal area were also analyzed. The finite element models were validated using load displacement data. The range of motion results of the finite element analysis were consistent with the in vitro results. All of the implants reduced the range of motion under all loading conditions, with the exception of the Z-Lift model under flexion, both with and without a preload. The novel device performed nearly as well as the other implants at reducing motion and provided a more consistent reduction in intradiscal pressure. All of the implants showed that they increase the cross sectional are of the foramina after instrumentation. The TruFuse and Z-Lift implants showed areas of high stress concentration in the facets, while the morphology conforming implant showed a more uniform stress distribution. This may result in faster fusion rates for the novel implant, however, future work must be done to assess this hypothesis.
Vijay Goel (Committee Chair)
Anand Agarwal (Committee Member)
Edward Nyman (Committee Member)
130 p.
Biomechanics; Biomedical Engineering
biomechanics; lumbar spine; PSS; facet bone dowels; zygapophyseal joint spacers; spinal fixation; MIS

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Gerber, J. M. (2015). Biomechanical Evaluation of Facet Bone Dowels in the Lumbar Spine [Master's thesis, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1438959810

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Gerber, Joel. Biomechanical Evaluation of Facet Bone Dowels in the Lumbar Spine. 2015. University of Toledo, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1438959810.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Gerber, Joel. "Biomechanical Evaluation of Facet Bone Dowels in the Lumbar Spine." Master's thesis, University of Toledo, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1438959810

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

toledo1438959810
607
© 2015, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Biomechanical Evaluation of Facet Bone Dowels in the Lumbar Spine by Joel M Gerber is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.