Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Equine Vet J. 2023 Sep;55(5):862-871. doi: 10.1111/evj.13887. Epub 2022 Nov 14.
The health and performance of horses are significantly affected by diseases associated with the hoof. Laminitis is a critical hoof disease that causes pain and, potentially, severe hoof and bone pathology.
To generate an equine hoof finite element (FE) model to investigate the impact of normal and toe-in hoof conformations on the degeneration (decrease in elastic modulus) of the laminar junction (LJ), as occurs in chronic laminitis.
Computer software modelling.
A hoof FE model was generated to investigate the biomechanics of hoof laminitis. A 3D model, consisting of nine components, was constructed from computed tomography scans of an equine left forelimb hoof. The model was loaded with 100 cycles of trotting. Two different centres of pressure (COP) paths representing normal and toe-in conformations were assigned to the model. LJ injury was modelled by degenerating the tissue's elastic modulus in the presence of excessive maximum principal stresses.
FE models successfully showed findings similar to clinical observations, confirming third phalanx (P3) dorsal rotation, a symmetric distal displacement of the P3 (2 mm at the lateral and medial sides) in the normal model, and an asymmetric distal displacement of the P3 (4 mm at the lateral and 1.5 mm at the medial side) in the toe-in model. The proximal distance between P3 and the ground after LJ degeneration in the current model was significantly different from experimental measurements from healthy hooves (P < 0.01).
The inability to account for variations in population geometry and approximation of boundary conditions and system relations were the limitations of the current study.
The distribution of LJ tissue degeneration was symmetric at the quarters in the normal hoof and in comparison, there was a lateral concentration of degeneration in the toe-in model.
马的健康和表现受到与马蹄相关疾病的显著影响。蹄叶炎是一种严重的蹄病，会引起疼痛，并可能导致严重的蹄部和骨骼病理学。
生成马的蹄部有限元（FE）模型，以研究正常和趾内蹄形态对蹄叶交界处（LJ）退化（弹性模量降低）的影响，这种退化类似于慢性蹄叶炎。
计算机软件建模。
生成蹄部 FE 模型以研究蹄叶炎的生物力学。使用马左前肢蹄的计算机断层扫描（CT）数据构建了一个由九个组件组成的 3D 模型。模型承受了 100 次的跑步周期加载。为模型分配了两种不同的中心压力（COP）路径，分别代表正常和趾内形态。通过在存在过大的最大主应力时使组织的弹性模量退化来模拟 LJ 损伤。
FE 模型成功地显示出与临床观察相似的发现，证实了正常模型中第三跖骨（P3）背侧旋转、P3 向远端对称移位（外侧和内侧各 2mm），以及趾内模型中 P3 向远端不对称移位（外侧 4mm，内侧 1.5mm）。在当前模型中，LJ 退化后 P3 与地面的近端距离与健康蹄的实验测量值显著不同（P<0.01）。
本研究的局限性在于无法考虑人群几何形状的变化以及边界条件和系统关系的近似。
在正常蹄中，LJ 组织退化的分布在 quarters 处是对称的，而在趾内模型中，退化则集中在外侧。
