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The objective of the present research is to develop accurate finite element models of the L4-L5 intervertebral disk. Major deficiencies in current lumbar motion segment models are due to geometric and material property oversimplifications. The current approach seeks to develop a patient-specific model, bypassing the oversimplifications, which accurately models the behavior of the intervertebral disk under multiple loading conditions. The surface geometry is segmented from MRI and CT scans of the lumbar spine. Each scanned layer is then segmented and meshed to form accurate geometrical representations of the motion segments, such as the cortical and cancellous bone of the intervertebral bodies, the cartilaginous endplates, the annulus fibrosus, and the nucleus pulposus. Because of the mechanical and geometric complexity of the two-composite structure of the annulus fibrosis, a material property optimization is performed in order to calibrate the annulus fibrosis as a single anisotropic material. Benefits of this model include applications such as patient-specific prosthetic disk design.
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