Comparison of computed tomography based parametric and patient-specific finite element models of the healthy and metastatic spine using a mesh-morphing algorithm

Study Design. A comparative analysis of parametric and patient-specific finite element (FE) modeling of spinal motion segments. Objectives. To develop patient-specific FE models of spinal motion segments using mesh-morphing methods applied to a parametric FE model. To compare strain and displacement patterns in parametric and morphed models for both healthy and metastatically involved vertebrae. Summary of Background Data. Parametric FE models may be limited in their ability to fully represent patient-specific geometries and material property distributions. Generation of multiple patient-specific FE models has been limited because of computational expense. Morphing methods have been successfully used to generate multiple specimen-specific FE models of caudal rat vertebrae. Methods. FE models of a healthy and a metastatic T6-T8 spinal motion segment were analyzed with and without patient-specific material properties. Parametric and morphed models were compared using a landmark-based morphing algorithm. Results. Morphing of the parametric FE model and including patient-specific material properties both had a strong impact on magnitudes and patterns of vertebral strain and displacement. Conclusion. Small but important geometric differences can be represented through morphing of parametric FE models. The mesh-morphing algorithm developed provides a rapid method for generating patient-specific FE models of spinal motion segments.