Ateshian Gerard A, Henak Corinne R, Weiss Jeffrey A
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
J Biomech. 2015 Mar 18;48(5):779-86. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2014.12.020. Epub 2014 Dec 18.
The mechanics of contacting cartilage layers is fundamentally important to understanding the development, homeostasis and pathology of diarthrodial joints. Because of the highly nonlinear nature of both the materials and the contact problem itself, numerical methods such as the finite element method are typically incorporated to obtain solutions. Over the course of five decades, we have moved from an initial qualitative understanding of articular cartilage material behavior to the ability to perform complex, three-dimensional contact analysis, including multiphasic material representations. This history includes the development of analytical and computational contact analysis methods that now provide the ability to perform highly nonlinear analyses. Numerical implementations of contact analysis based on the finite element method are rapidly advancing and will soon enable patient-specific analysis of joint contact mechanics using models based on medical image data. In addition to contact stress on the articular surfaces, these techniques can predict variations in strain and strain through the cartilage layers, providing the basis to predict damage and failure. This opens up exciting areas for future research and application to patient-specific diagnosis and treatment planning applied to a variety of pathologies that affect joint function and cartilage homeostasis.
接触软骨层的力学原理对于理解滑膜关节的发育、稳态和病理学至关重要。由于材料和接触问题本身具有高度非线性的性质，通常采用有限元法等数值方法来获得解决方案。在过去的五十年里，我们从对关节软骨材料行为的初步定性理解，发展到能够进行复杂的三维接触分析，包括多相材料表示。这段历史包括分析和计算接触分析方法的发展，这些方法现在能够进行高度非线性分析。基于有限元法的接触分析数值实现正在迅速发展，很快就能使用基于医学图像数据的模型对患者特定的关节接触力学进行分析。除了关节表面的接触应力外，这些技术还可以预测软骨层内的应变和应变变化，为预测损伤和失效提供依据。这为未来的研究以及应用于影响关节功能和软骨稳态的各种病理状况的患者特定诊断和治疗规划开辟了令人兴奋的领域。
