Reported investigations of facet articulation in the human spine have often been conducted through the insertion of pressure sensitive film into the joint space, which requires incision of the facet capsule and may alter the characteristics of interaction between the facet surfaces. Load transmission through the facet has also been measured using strain gauges bonded to the articular processes. While this method allows for preservation of the facet capsule, it requires extensive instrumentation of the spine, as well as strain-gauge calibration, and is highly sensitive to placement and location of the strain gauges. The inherently invasive nature of these techniques makes it difficult to translate them into medical practice. A method has been developed to investigate facet articulation through the application of test kinematics to a specimen-specific rigid-body model of each vertebra within a lumbar spine segment. Rigid-body models of each vertebral body were developed from CT scans of each specimen. The distances between nearest-neighboring points on each facet surface were calculated for specific time frames of each specimen’s flexion/extension test. A metric describing the proportion of each facet surface within a distance (2 mm) from the neighboring surface, the contact area ratio (CAR), was calculated at each of these time frames. A statistically significant difference was found in the CAR between the time frames corresponding to full flexion and full extension in every level of the lumbar spine (L1–L5) using the data obtained from the seven specimens evaluated in this study. The finding that the contact area of the facet is greater in extension than flexion corresponds to other findings in the literature, as well as the generally accepted role of the facets in extension. Thus, a biomechanical method with a sufficiently sensitive metric is presented as a means to evaluate differences in facet articulation between intact and treated or between healthy and pathologic spines.
Skip Nav Destination
e-mail: cook348@gmail.com
Article navigation
June 2010
Technical Briefs
Development of a Model Based Method for Investigating Facet Articulation
Daniel J. Cook,
Daniel J. Cook
Department of Bioengineering, and Department of Neurological Surgery,
e-mail: cook348@gmail.com
University of Pittsburgh
, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Search for other works by this author on:
Boyle C. Cheng
Boyle C. Cheng
Department of Bioengineering, and Department of Neurological Surgery,
University of Pittsburgh
, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Search for other works by this author on:
Daniel J. Cook
Department of Bioengineering, and Department of Neurological Surgery,
University of Pittsburgh
, Pittsburgh, PA 15212e-mail: cook348@gmail.com
Boyle C. Cheng
Department of Bioengineering, and Department of Neurological Surgery,
University of Pittsburgh
, Pittsburgh, PA 15212J Biomech Eng. Jun 2010, 132(6): 064504 (6 pages)
Published Online: April 28, 2010
Article history
Received:
October 14, 2009
Revised:
January 8, 2010
Posted:
January 21, 2010
Published:
April 28, 2010
Online:
April 28, 2010
Citation
Cook, D. J., and Cheng, B. C. (April 28, 2010). "Development of a Model Based Method for Investigating Facet Articulation." ASME. J Biomech Eng. June 2010; 132(6): 064504. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4001078
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
Effect of Collagen Fiber Tortuosity Distribution on the Mechanical Response of Arterial Tissues
J Biomech Eng (February 2025)
Related Articles
Design of a Dynamic Stabilization Spine Implant
J. Med. Devices (June,2009)
Erratum: “Elastic Anisotropy of Human Cortical Bone Secondary Osteons Measured by Nanoindentation” [ Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 2009, 131(2), p. 021001 ]
J Biomech Eng (November,2009)
Biomechanical Evaluation of a Novel Lumbosacral Axial Fixation Device
J Biomech Eng (November,2005)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Macropore Spatial Variability of CT-Measured Solute Transport Parameters
Intelligent Engineering Systems through Artificial Neural Networks, Volume 20
X-ray Computed Tomography of Cavitating Flow in a Converging-Diverging Nozzle
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)
Measurement of Solute Transport Properties Using X-Ray Computed Tomography
Intelligent Engineering Systems through Artificial Neural Networks, Volume 20