Lai, J. orcid.org/0009-0009-5488-8619, Tomlinson, J., Breakwell, L. et al. (1 more author) (2025) A finite element study of the effect of cross-link stabilisation in a lumbar spine tumour model. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part H, Journal of engineering in medicine, 239 (7). pp. 607-623. ISSN: 0954-4119
Abstract
Spinal metastases can increase the risks of vertebral fracture due to bony destruction and instability in the spine. There are concerns that cross-links may impair adjuvant treatments, such as radiotherapy and proton beam therapy. The aim of this study was to assess the biomechanical effects of cross-link stabilisation for a growing tumour in order to provide recommendations on the use and placement of the cross-link. A finite element (FE) model of a fixation device was developed. The device was inserted virtually into a FE model of the lumbar spine (L1-S1) between L2 and L4. Tumour deposit of either 1.3%, 10.1%, 38.3%, 71.5% and 92.1% of the vertebral body was simulated. A 1000 N compressive, a 10° lateral bending and a 7.5 Nm torsional load were simulated on the top of L1. Results indicate that the stabilisation is capable of reducing the stress of the L3 lumbar spine under torsion with a growing tumour. However, compressive loading is concentrated in the L3 anterior vertebra when the tumour volume was greater than 10.1% of the vertebra volume. The cross-link stabilisation reduced the stress of the posterior body within the stabilised segments (L2-L4), especially under torsion. The position of the cross-link does affect the ability of stabilisation to reduce concentrated stress of both vertebrae and screws, which indicates that the position of the cross-link should be considered in clinical surgery to refine the stress concentration, spinal stability and structural stiffness, without compromising adjuvant treatments.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © IMechE 2025. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Finite element [Biomechanics], spine biomechanics, fixation, tumour, stabilisation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Mechanical Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 29 Jul 2025 15:17 |
Last Modified: | 29 Jul 2025 15:17 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Sage |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/09544119251348279 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:229727 |