Stresses and deformations of an osteosynthesis plate in a lateral tibia plateau fracture

Matthias Münch; Tobias Barth; Annika Studt; Julius Dehoust; Klaus Seide; Maximilian Hartel; Karl-Heinz Frosch

doi:10.1515/bmt-2021-0166

Article

Stresses and deformations of an osteosynthesis plate in a lateral tibia plateau fracture

Matthias Münch , Tobias Barth , Annika Studt , Julius Dehoust , Klaus Seide , Maximilian Hartel and Karl-Heinz Frosch

Published/Copyright: January 10, 2022

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From the journal Biomedical Engineering / Biomedizinische Technik Volume 67 Issue 1

Abstract

This study has the aim to investigate the strain and stress in an anterolateral locking plate applied for the fixation of a lateral split fracture. To simulate a complex fracture situation, three segments were separated. With a FEM analysis, representative places for strain and stress measurement were determined. A locked osteosynthesis plate was instrumented with strain gauges and tested on a fractured and a non-fractured Saw Bone model. To simulate different loading situations, four different points of force application, from the center of the condyles to a 15 mm posterior position, were used with a medial-lateral load distribution of 60:40. The simulations as well as the biomechanical tests demonstrated that two deformations dominate the load on the plate: a bending into posterior direction and a bulging of the plate head. Shifting the point of application to the posterior direction resulted in increasing maximum stress, from 1.16 to 6.32 MPa (FEM analysis) and from 3.04 to 7.00 MPa (biomechanical study), respectively. Furthermore, the comparison of the non-fractured and fractured models showed an increase in maximum stress by the factor 2.06–2.2 (biomechanical investigation) and 1.5–3.3 (FEM analysis), respectively.

Keywords: biomechanics; FEM simulation; lateral tibia plateau fracture; osteosynthesis; plate deformation; testing machine

Corresponding author: Matthias Münch, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Traumatology, BG Hospital Hamburg, Bergedorfer Straße 10, 21033 Hamburg, Germany, E-mail: M.Muench@BGK-Hamburg.de

Funding source: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002347

Award Identifier / Grant number: 13GW0199B

Research funding: This work was funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the Grant Number 13GW0199B.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: not applicable.
Ethical approval: not applicable.

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Received: 2021-05-27

Accepted: 2021-11-26

Published Online: 2022-01-10

Published in Print: 2022-02-23

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/bmt-2021-0166

Keywords for this article

biomechanics; FEM simulation; lateral tibia plateau fracture; osteosynthesis; plate deformation; testing machine