Estudio y simulación mediante software de elementos finitos de las diferentes cirugías de disco intervertebral

La motivación principal de este proyecto es el estudio mediante técnicas ingenieriles de problemas asociados a la biomedicina, con el propósito de mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas que deben someterse a operaciones de implantes protésicos. Su finalidad fundamental es la determinación de la cirugía más adecuada a aplicar a un paciente aquejado de dolores lumbares. En primer lugar se ha modificado el modelo de elementos finitos de la columna lumbar desarrollada por Moramarco (1) validandolo con los datos existentes el la bibliografía (2). Este modelo supone una mejora significativa con respecto a los modelos computacionales que existentes ya que incorpora la geometría no sólo de vértebras y discos, sino de ligamentos y fibras en los tejidos, necesarios para la simulación correcta del movimiento. A continuación se ha simulado la degeneración del disco D45, variando sus propiedades y comparando los resultados con los efectos reales de la degeneración. Tras ver los problemas de las patologías lumbares se han realizado diferentes modelos en elementos finitos que permitan modelar las diferentes cirugías existentes, como son la artrodesis y los implantes intervertebrales con fijación posterior mediante tornillos. Una vez realizado el cálculo computacional de estos modelos se establece, por comparación con la columna lumbar sana, que disminuyen drásticamente el movimiento relativo en el segmento intervenido. Esta disminución de movimiento, conlleva un incremento de giro relativo en el resto de segmentos, lo cual provoca un aumento de tensiones. El incremento de tensiones en los discos adyacentes, puede provocar dolor y aumentar la probabilidad de propagación de la degeneración. Con el objetivo de conseguir una técnica quirúrgica que respete el movimiento natural de la columna, se ha simulado una cirugía en la que únicamente se introduzca el espaciador intervertebral, sin fijación posterior. Viendo los resultados de esta nueva técnica se concluye que aunque la fijación mediante tornillos consigue una perfecta estabilización de la columna, la mejor técnica desde el punto de vista biomecánico es el implante sin fijación posterior, que consigue estabilizar la columna sin modificar drásticamente el movimiento natural del paciente

Human lumbar spine biomechanics: study of pathologies and new surgical procedures

This thesis aims to shed light on the process that undergoes the lumbar spine as a result of intervertebral disc degeneration and different lumbar surgeries, paying special attention on the main risk factors and how to overcome them. Low back pain is the leading musculoskeletal disorder in all developed countries generating high medical related costs. Intervertebral disc degeneration is one of the most common causes of low back pain. When conservative treatments fail to relieve this pain, lumbar surgery is needed and, in this regard, lumbar fusion is the \textquotedblleft gold standard\textquotedblright technique to provide stability and neural decompression.Degenerative disc disease has been studied through two different approaches. An in-vivo animal model was reproduced and followed-up with MRI and mechanical testing to see how the water content decreased while the stiffness of the tissue increased. Then, degeneration was induced in a single disc of the human lumbar spine and the effects on the adjacent disc were investigated by the use of the finite element models. Further on, different procedures for segmental fusion were computationally simulated. A comparison among different intersomatic cage designs, supplemented with posterior screw fixation or placed in a stand-alone fashion, showed how the supplementary fixation drastically decreased the motion in the affected segment increasing the risk of adjacent segment disease more than a single placed cage. However, one of the main concerns regarding the use of cages without additional fixation is the subsidence of the device into the vertebral bone. A parametric study of the cage features and placement pointed to the width, curvature, and position as the most influential parameters for stability and subsidence.Finally, two different algorithms for tissue healing were implemented and applied for the first time to predict lumbar fusion in 3D models. The self-repairing ability of the bone was tested after simple nucleotomy and after instrumentation with internal fixation, anterior plate or stand-alone intersomatic cage predicting, in agreement with previous animal and clinical studies, that instrumentation may be not necessary to promote segmental fusion. In particular, the intervertebral disc height was seen to play an important role in the bone bridge or osteophyte formation.To summarize, this thesis has focused in the main controversial issues of intervertebral disc degeneration and lumbar fusion, such as degenerative process, adjacent segment disease, segment stability, cage subsidence or bone bridging. All the models described in this thesis could serve as a powerful tool for the pre-clinical evaluation of patient-specific surgical outcomes supporting clinician decisions. This thesis aims to shed light on the process that undergoes the lumbar spine as a result of intervertebral disc degeneration and different lumbar surgeries, paying special attention on the main risk factors and how to overcome them. Low back pain is the leading musculoskeletal disorder in all developed countries generating high medical related costs. Intervertebral disc degeneration is one of the most common causes of low back pain. When conservative treatments fail to relieve this pain, lumbar surgery is needed and, in this regard, lumbar fusion is the \textquotedblleft gold standard\textquotedblright technique to provide stability and neural decompression. Degenerative disc disease has been studied through two different approaches. An in-vivo animal model was reproduced and followed-up with MRI and mechanical testing to see how the water content decreased while the stiffness of the tissue increased. Then, degeneration was induced in a single disc of the human lumbar spine and the effects on the adjacent disc were investigated by the use of the finite element models. Further on, different procedures for segmental fusion were computationally simulated. A comparison among different intersomatic cage designs, supplemented with posterior screw fixation or placed in a stand-alone fashion, showed how the supplementary fixation drastically decreased the motion in the affected segment increasing the risk of adjacent segment disease more than a single placed cage. However, one of the main concerns regarding the use of cages without additional fixation is the subsidence of the device into the vertebral bone. A parametric study of the cage features and placement pointed to the width, curvature, and position as the most influential parameters for stability and subsidence. Finally, two different algorithms for tissue healing were implemented and applied for the first time to predict lumbar fusion in 3D models. The self-repairing ability of the bone was tested after simple nucleotomy and after instrumentation with internal fixation, anterior plate or stand-alone intersomatic cage predicting, in agreement with previous animal and clinical studies, that instrumentation may be not necessary to promote segmental fusion. In particular, the intervertebral disc height was seen to play an important role in the bone bridge or osteophyte formation. To summarize, this thesis has focused in the main controversial issues of intervertebral disc degeneration and lumbar fusion, such as degenerative process, adjacent segment disease, segment stability, cage subsidence or bone bridging. All the models described in this thesis could serve as a powerful tool for the pre-clinical evaluation of patient-specific surgical outcomes supporting clinician decisions. <br /