Evaluation of Stability and Reliability of Motorized Unilateral External Fixator, Designed and Simulated using Finite Element Method to Treat Bone Fractures and Bone Loss

Subject Areas :

Alireza Bahramkia ¹ , Mehran Fakhraie ² , Salar Khajehpour ³ , Seyed Mohammad Tahami ⁴ , Raheb Gholami ⁵

1 - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran
2 - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran
3 - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran |Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
4 - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran |Assistant professor of Orthopedics Bone and Joint Disease Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
5 - Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran

Received: 2022-10-19 Accepted : 2022-12-09 Published : 2022-12-01

Keywords: Finite Element Method, Bone fracture, Unilateral External Bone Fixator, Bone Loss, Orthopedics,

Abstract :

Today, it is common to align broken bones using external bone fixators; ease of installation and adjustability are among the advantages of unilateral external bone fixators compared to circular and horseshoe models. The present study aimed to ensure the stability and strength of the motorized unilateral external bone fixator, equipped with four motors designed in SolidWorks software. The device was simulated and analyzed using the finite element method in Ansys software. The results were as follows: Simulation of compressive, bending, and torsional forces and reliability evaluation using the finite element method in each simulated experiment. The designed device has the necessary stability, rigidity, and desirable reliability to fix the long broken bones in place, with the possibility of displacing the bone when having a lost part. Precise bone displacement is possible since the device has four independent motorized units based on the patient's needs and the instructions of a specialist to rebuild bones.

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