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A new method for computing the uniaxial modulus of articular cartilages using modified inhomogeneous triphasic model

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Abstract

It is well known that subtle changes in structure and tissue composition of articular cartilage can lead to its degeneration. The present paper puts forward a modified layered inhomogeneous triphasic model with four parameters based on the inhomogeneous triphasic model proposed by Narmoneva et al. Incorporating a piecewise fitting optimization criterion, the new model was used to obtain the uniaxial modulus Ha, and predict swelling pattern for the articular cartilage based on ultrasound-measured swelling strain data. The results show that the new method can be used to provide more accurate estimation on the uniaxial modulus than the inhomogeneous triphasic model with three parameters and the homogeneous mode, and predict effectively the swelling strains of highly nonuniform distribution of degenerated articular cartilages. This study can provide supplementary information for exploring mechanical and material properties of the cartilage, and thus be helpful for the diagnosis of osteoarthritis-related diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, 100191, Beijing, China

    Haijun Niu & Yubo Fan

  2. HTI, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 00852, Hong Kong, China

    Qing Wang & Yongping Zheng

Authors
  1. Haijun Niu
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  2. Qing Wang
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  3. Yongping Zheng
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  4. Yubo Fan
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Correspondence to Yubo Fan.

Additional information

The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10772018, 30872720).

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Niu, H., Wang, Q., Zheng, Y. et al. A new method for computing the uniaxial modulus of articular cartilages using modified inhomogeneous triphasic model. Acta Mech Sin 26, 121–126 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-009-0287-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-009-0287-x

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