OBJECTIVES We aimed to further evaluate the biomechanical characteristics of two locking screws versus three standard bicortical screws in synthetic models of normal and osteoporotic bone. METHODS Synthetic tubular bone models representing normal bone density and osteoporotic bone density were used. Artificial fracture gaps of 1 cm were created in each specimen before fixation with one of two...

Magnetic resonance imaging is established as the technique of choice for assessment of degenerative disorders of the lumbar spine. However, it is routinely performed with the patient supine and the hips and knees flexed. The absence of axial loading and lumbar extension results in a maximization of spinal canal dimensions, which may in some cases, result in failure to demonstrate nerve root com...

The aim of this study was to compare the biomechanical properties of medial and lateral plating of a medially comminuted supracondylar femoral fracture. A supracondylar femoral fracture model comparing two fixation methods was tested cyclically in axial loading. One-centimetre supracondylar gap osteotomies were created in six synthetic femurs approximately 6 cm proximal to the knee joint. There...

Thermal stress, wear and material damage produce effects of high-cycle fatigue failures in aircraft engines. The loading configuration on turbine blades of aircraft engines consists of an axial load. The axial load is the centrifugal force combined with the tensile and compressive loads, caused by the natural vibrations of the blades themselves. Low-cycle fatigue and high-cycle fatigue loading ...

PURPOSE To compare the stiffness of locking compression plate (LCP) constructs with or without drilling the near cortex with elongated figure-of-8 holes. METHODS 24 synthetic bones were sawn to create a 10-mm gap and were fixed with a 9-hole 4.5-mm narrow LCP. In 12 bones, the near cortex of the adjacent holes to the LCP holes was drilled to create elongated figure-of-8 holes before screw ins...

This paper reviews the design and validation of a novel bearing test rig developed at the KU Leuven. The test rig allows multi-axial static and dynamic loading of a rolling element bearing. Different types and sizes of bearings can be mounted and loaded as if built into a real machine. The test rig will be used to analyse the effect of external dynamic loads on the lifetime of these bearings. T...

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) resulting from sports now represent 8.9% of the total causes of SCI. Regardless of cause, there are bound to be return-to-play decisions to be made for athletes. Since catastrophic cervical spine injuries are among the most devastating injuries in all of sports, returning from a cervical spine injury is one of the most difficult decisions in sports medicine. Axial lo...

BACKGROUND We hypothesized that using a cadaveric Lisfranc ligamentous injury model, abduction stress would provoke greater post-injury motion than axial weightbearing between the medial cuneiform (MC1) and the base of the second metatarsal (MT2). Second, we hypothesized that both a tensioned suture-button device and a rigid screw fixation method could maintain a reduction and similarly restrai...

Bones adapt their structure to their loading environment and so ensure that they become, and are maintained, sufficiently strong to withstand the loads to which they are habituated. The effectiveness of this process declines with age and bones become fragile fracturing with less force. This effect in humans also occurs in mice which experience age-related bone loss and reduced adaptation to loa...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the amount of deformation from compression caused by different diameters of Morse taper implants and the residual deformation after load removal. Thirty Morse taper implants lacking external threads were divided into 3 groups (n = 10) according to their diameter as follows: 3.5 mm, 4.0 mm and 5.0 mm. Two-piece abutments were fixed into the implants, and the...