Strength of cables in cervical spine fixation

Sub-laminar titanium cables have been commonly used in cervical spinal fixations surgeries for re-stabilization of posterior spinal ligament. As the cables are to be implanted into the patient’s neck, any risk of failure due to twisting or wrapping of the cables will be devastating to the patient’s health. Therefore this project investigates the mechanical strength of the material being used. The ultimate aim of this final year project is to analyze the strength of these cables to be used for the fixture using finite element analysis (FEA) software, ABAQUS. The ultimate tensile strength and maximum load that the material can withstand will be investigated with three different models, a single strand, 7-strand and 7x7-strand. The results are compared with experiments and simulations done previously through graphs created. The results generate in this project were relatively close to that obtained through experimental means. The conclusion of this project was that all the models created in this project were reliable and generated accurate results. The models can be used for future analysis to obtain more representative results and effects of other failures that will occur. Few recommendations were given for considerations in regards to future studies.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering