Biomechanical Finite Element Method Model of the Proximal Carpal Row and Experimental Validation

This research was funded by the Ministry of Education Grants DPI2017-83859-R, EQC2018-004508-P, and UNGR15-CE-3664; Ministry of Health Grants DTS15/00093 and PI16/00339; and Junta de Andalucia Grants, B-TEP-026-UGR18, IE2017-5537, P18-RT-1653, PI-0107-2017, and PIN-0030-2017.The Finite Element Method (FEM) models are valuable tools to create an idea of the behavior of any structure. The complexity of the joints, materials, attachment areas, and boundary conditions is an open issue in biomechanics that needs to be addressed. Scapholunate instability is the leading cause of wrist pain and disability among patients of all ages. It is needed a better understanding of pathomechanics to develop new effective treatments. Previous models have emulated joints like the ankle or the knee but there are few about the wrist joint. The elaboration of realistic computational models of the carpus can give critical information to biomedical research and surgery to develop new surgical reconstructions. Hence, a 3D model of the proximal carpal row has been created through DICOM images, making a reduced wrist model. The materials, contacts, and ligaments definition were made via open-source software to extract results and carry on a reference comparison. Thus, considering the limitations that a reduced model could carry on (unbalanced forces and torques), the stresses that result in the scapholunate interosseous ligament (SLIL) lead us to a bones relative displacement, which support the kinematics hypothesis in the literature as the distal carpal row moves as a rigid solid with the capitate bone. Also, experimental testing is performed, successfully validating the linear strength values of the scapholunate ligament from the literature.Ministry of Education Grants DPI2017-83859-R EQC2018-004508-P UNGR15-CE-3664Ministry of Health Grants DTS15/00093 PI16/00339Junta de Andalucia B-TEP-026-UGR18 IE2017-5537 P18-RT-1653 PI-0107-2017 PIN-0030-201