Finite Element Model Design for Articular Cartilage Creep Behavior

Kalisvaart, Wietse (2023) Finite Element Model Design for Articular Cartilage Creep Behavior. Master's Thesis / Essay, Biomedical Engineering.

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Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) has a high prevalence among the elderly and is characterized by the degradation of the articular cartilage (AC) in the joints. This degradation is known to lead to a loss in mechanical functioning of the joints, most commonly the knee joint, and is the leading cause for knee replacement surgery. With an increase in knowledge regarding the biomechanical behavior of degraded cartilage a model might be obtained to simulate the AC behavior based on the penetration depth of the degradation. Creep and relaxation tests have been performed on healthy and enzymatically degraded cartilage. Collagenase III was added to the cartilage to degrade the collagen II fibers which maintain the structure of the AC and provide stiffness. Chondroitinase ABC was used to degrade the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) which hold the water in the AC. Varying degradation times were used, namely 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours and 16 hours. The data was analyzed using Python and a viscoelastic model was fitted to the relaxation data of a healthy AC plug. A curve fit to the relaxation curves in Python was used to obtain the initial values which were used for the optimization of the Finite Element (FE) model. Histology has been performed on the 4 hour and 16 hour degraded groups with a control. A penetration depth of 130 and 401 microns was discovered for the 4 hour and 16 hour groups of Chondroitinase ABC. No clear penetration depth was found for the collagenase III degraded groups.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Supervisor name:	Sharma, P.K. and Fluit, R.
Degree programme:	Biomedical Engineering
Thesis type:	Master's Thesis / Essay
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	19 Jul 2023 07:14
Last Modified:	19 Jul 2023 07:14
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/30699

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