Recent advancement in finite element analysis of spinal interbody cages: A review

作者：Ruofan Wang, Zenghui Wu · 发表于：Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.3389/fbioe.2023.1041973 · 被引用次数：24 · 研究领域：Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology、Orthopaedic implants and arthroplasty、Cervical and Thoracic Myelopathy

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a widely used tool in a variety of industries and research endeavors. With its application to spine biomechanics, FEA has contributed to a better understanding of the spine, its components, and its behavior in physiological and pathological conditions, as well as assisting in the design and application of spinal instrumentation, particularly spinal interbody cages (ICs). IC is a highly effective instrumentation for achieving spinal fusion that has been used to treat a variety of spinal disorders, including degenerative disc disease, trauma, tumor reconstruction, and scoliosis. The application of FEA lets new designs be thoroughly “tested” before a cage is even manufactured, allowing bio-mechanical responses and spinal fusion processes that cannot easily be experimented upon in vivo to be examined and “diagnosis” to be performed, which is an important addition to clinical and in vitro experimental studies. This paper reviews the recent progress of FEA in spinal ICs over the last six years. It demonstrates how modeling can aid in evaluating the biomechanical response of cage materials, cage design, and fixation devices, understanding bone formation mechanisms, comparing the benefits of various fusion techniques, and investigating the impact of pathological structures. It also summarizes the various limitations brought about by modeling simplification and looks forward to the significant advancement of spine FEA research as computing efficiency a...