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High speed insertion of bone fracture fixation pins: a finite element penetration model with experimental comparisons

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine volume 22, pages 2823–2832 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

A new method of bone fracture fixation is considered in which small pins/darts are dynamically inserted into bone to prevent translation and rotation at the fracture site. An ABAQUS model was developed to analyze dart penetration in cortical and cancellous bone for varying dart diameter, material, and velocity, and cortical thickness. The method is advocated for bioresorbable darts, so polylactide (PLA) and magnesium are the materials examined in this study. Numerical results showed that magnesium darts can achieve full penetration in bone while suffering little damage. The PLA darts penetrated thin bone well, but substantial deformation was seen as the cortical thickness increased, especially for small diameter darts. As partial validation, prototype PLA fixation darts were fired into cadaveric bone with a custom nailer. As in the model, the PLA darts could penetrate thin cortices but saw gross deformation when impacted against thicker bone.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the funding of Zimmer. The research was also supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Contract W81XWH-09-1-0741. In addition the authors would like acknowledge the financial support of Professor Mark Jackson of AUT University, allowing for the collaboration between the University of Notre Dame and AUT University.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 150 Multidisciplinary Research Building, Notre Dame, IN, 46637, USA

    Matthew P. Prygoski & Steven R. Schmid

  2. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand

    Timotius Pasang

  3. Zimmer Inc., Warsaw, Indiana, USA

    Antony J. Lozier

Authors
  1. Matthew P. Prygoski
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  2. Timotius Pasang
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  3. Steven R. Schmid
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  4. Antony J. Lozier
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Correspondence to Steven R. Schmid.

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Prygoski, M.P., Pasang, T., Schmid, S.R. et al. High speed insertion of bone fracture fixation pins: a finite element penetration model with experimental comparisons. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 22, 2823–2832 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-011-4461-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-011-4461-x

Keywords

  • Magnesium Alloy
  • Cortical Bone
  • Cancellous Bone
  • Cortical Thickness
  • Full Penetration