Kober Cornelia, Hellmich Christian, Stübinger Stefan, Zeilhofer Hans-Florian, Sader Robert
Int J Comput Dent. 2015;18(4):333-42.
The load-carrying behavior of the human mandible can be described using finite element simulation, enabling investigations about physiological and pathological skeletal adaption. "Anatomical simulation" implies a stepwise approximation towards the anatomical reality.
The project is structured in three steps. In Step 1, the preprocessing, the simulation model is provided. Step 2 is the numerical computation. Step 3 is dedicated to the interpretation of the results. The requirements of the preprocessing are: a) realization of the organ's individual anatomy, namely its outer shape; b) the tissue's elastic properties, thus its inner consistency; and c) the organ's mechanical loads. For physiological mandibular loading, these are due to muscles, temporomandibular joints, and tooth forces. Meanwhile, the reconstruction of the macroscopic anatomy from computed tomography data is standard. The periodontal ligament is inserted ex post using an approach developed by the authors. The bone is modeled anisotropically and inhomogeneously. By the visualization of the individual fiber course, the muscular force vectors are realized. The mandibular condyle is freely mobile in a kind of simplified joint capsule. For the realization of bite forces, several approaches are available.
An extendible software tool is provided, enabling the user - by variable input of muscle and bite forces - to examine the individual patient's biomechanics, eg, the influence of the periodontal ligament, the condition of the temporomandibular joints, atrophic processes, or the biomechanical situation of dental implants.
By stepwise approximation towards the anatomical reality, the mandibular simulation will be advanced to a valuable tool for diagnosis and prognosis.
人类下颌骨的承载行为可以通过有限元模拟来描述，从而能够对生理和病理骨骼适应性进行研究。“解剖学模拟”意味着逐步逼近解剖学现实。
该项目分为三个步骤。第一步是预处理，提供模拟模型。第二步是数值计算。第三步致力于结果解释。预处理的要求是：a）实现器官的个体解剖结构，即其外形；b）组织的弹性特性，即其内部一致性；c）器官的机械负荷。对于生理性下颌骨负荷，这些负荷来自肌肉、颞下颌关节和牙齿作用力。同时，从计算机断层扫描数据重建宏观解剖结构是标准操作。使用作者开发的方法事后插入牙周韧带。骨骼采用各向异性和非均匀性建模。通过可视化单个纤维走向，实现肌肉力向量。下颌髁突在一种简化的关节囊中可自由移动。对于咬合力的实现，有几种方法可供选择。
提供了一个可扩展的软件工具，通过可变输入肌肉力和咬合力，用户能够检查个体患者的生物力学情况，例如牙周韧带的影响、颞下颌关节状况、萎缩过程或牙种植体的生物力学情况。
通过逐步逼近解剖学现实，下颌骨模拟将发展成为一种用于诊断和预后的有价值工具。
