Reproducing morphological features of intervertebral disc using finite element modeling to predict the course of cervical spine dorsopathy

Study objective - To evaluate how morphological features of intervertebral disc would affect the outcomes of finite element modeling of axial load in the cervical spine, C3-C5, in order to predict the risk of occurrence and course of dorsopathies. Material and Methods - Three-dimensional models of the cervical spine vertebrae were generated from the computed tomography data of a volunteer (24 years old male without detected pathology of his neck). Intervertebral disc models were developed in two configurations. For each model, we performed a finite element investigation of the stress-strain state with the same loading conditions. The load-displacement curves were compared with the experimental data generated from the results of previously conducted in vitro experiments. Results - The maximum and mean displacement values for the isotropic model were 1.15 mm and 0.73 +/- 0.45 mm, respectively. For anisotropic model, maximum and mean displacement values were 0.86 mm and 0.47 +/- 0.24 mm, correspondingly. Predicted displacement values for both models matched the experimental data fairly well. Stress profiles of intervertebral discs and stress diagrams of facet joints were calculated. Conclusion - The proposed geometric and constitutive configurations of the intervertebral disc take into account specific morphological features at low computational costs, thereby facilitating the modeling of degenerative disc changes.