Supercomputer use in orthopaedic biomechanics research: focus on functional adaptation of bone.
The authors describe two biomechanical analyses carried out using numerical methods. One is an analysis of the stress and strain in a human mandible, and the other analysis involves modeling the adaptive response of a sheep bone to mechanical loading. The computing environment required for the two types of analyses is discussed. It is shown that a simple stress analysis of a geometrically complex mandible can be accomplished using a minicomputer. However, more sophisticated analyses of the same model with dynamic loading or nonlinear materials would require supercomputer capabilities. A supercomputer is also required for modeling the adaptive response of living bone, even when simple geometric and material models are use.
Hart
R T
RT
Dept. of Biomed. Eng., Tulane Univ., New Orleans, LA.
Thongpreda
N
N
Van Buskirk
W C
WC