A Stress Distribution Analysis of a Ceramic Lunate Replacement for Kienböck’s Disease

Abstract

To determine the usefulness of a ceramic lunate replacement for the wrist joint as a possible treatment for Kienböck's disease, stress distribution of five wrist joint models (a normal wrist, one with the lunate bone removed, one with a coiled tendon replacement, one with a coiled tendon replacement with a ceramic core, and one with a ceramic lunate replacement coated with sheets of tendon) were analysed by the finite element method. The results of finite element method analyses were compared with those of pressure distribution analyses on the wrist joint using pressure-sensitive film and measurement of pressure on the radio-lunate joint with a tactile sensor. Both the coiled tendon model and ceramic core model were unable to resist applied force. Stress and pressure were well-distributed in the wrist joint of the ceramic lunate implant model. These results indicate that the ceramic lunate implant could be expected to prevent carpal collapse.

A first step in finite-element simulation of a grasping task

“…Ulrich et al [11] developed a highly detailed micro-FE model with the aim of studying the load transfer in the trabecular part of the scaphoid, the distal radius, and the lunate with a voxel size of 165 lm. Oda et al [12] studied the influence of wrist joint model and of the replacement of lunate bone using two-dimensional FE simulation. Ledoux et al [13] investigated the influence of the scaphoid on the global behavior of the wrist using a two-dimensional model of the wrist.…”

Effects of dividing the transverse carpal ligament on the mechanical behavior of the carpal bones under axial compressive load: A finite element study

“…However, the FE modeling of the wrist has been challenging due to the material, structural, and mechanical complexity of the wrist. Previous FE analysis of the wrist was simplified to two-dimensional [10,11] due to the number of bodies involved and the complexity of the soft tissue interaction. The few three-dimensional finite element models simulated only a part of the wrist, such as the load transfer analysis model through the distal radius [12], which involved only the distal radius and the adjacent scaphoid and lunate.…”

Finite Element Modelling of a Multi-Bone Joint: The Human Wrist

“…Miyake et al (1994) published around the same time, a finite element model simulating the stress distribution of a malunited Colle's fracture. That same group later published a paper on the stress distribution in the carpus following a lunate ceramic replacement for Kienböck's disease (Oda et al 2000).…”