title: Advantageous new conic cannula for spine cement injection.
abstract: METHODS
  Experimental study to characterize the influence of the cannula geometry on both, the pressure drop and the cement flow velocity established along the cannula.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate how the new experimental geometry of cannulas can affect the extravertebral injection pressure and the velocity profiles established along the cannula during the injection process.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Vertebroplasty procedure is being used to treat vertebral compression fractures. Vertebra infiltration is favored by the use of suitable: (1) syringes or injector devices; (2) polymer or ceramic bone cements; and (3) cannulas. However, the clinical use of ceramic bone cement has been limited due to press-filtering problems. Thus, new approaches concerning the cannula geometry are needed to minimize the press-filtering of calcium phosphate-based bone cements and thereby broaden its possible applications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Straight, conic, and combined conic-straight new cannulas with different proximal and distal both length and diameter ratios were drawn with computer-assisted design software. The new geometries were theoretically analyzed by: (1) Hagen-Poisseuille law; and (2) computational fluid dynamics. Some experimental models were manufactured and tested for extrusion in order to confirm and further advance the theoretical results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results confirm that the totally conic cannula model, having proximal to distal diameter ratio equal 2, requires the lowest injection pressure. Furthermore, its velocity profile showed no discontinuity at all along the cannula length, compared with other known combined proximal and distal straight cannulas, where discontinuity was produced at the proximal-distal transition zone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The conclusion is that the conic cannulas: (a) further reduced the extravertebral pressure during the injection process; (b) showed optimum fluid flow velocity profiles to minimize filter-pressing problems, especially when ceramic cements are used; and (c) can be easily manufactured. In this sense, the new conic cannulas should favor the use of calcium phosphate bone cements in the spine.
  
  
  METHODS
  N/A.
authors.affiliation: *Interdepartment Research Group for the Applied Scientific Collaboration (IRGASC), Division of Biomaterials & Bioengineering, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain; and †Faculty of Medical Bioengineering, "Gr. T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania.
authors.forename: Sergio Gómez
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: María Daniela
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Vlad
authors.forename: José López
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Enrique Fernández
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Aguado
mesh_terms: D001843:Bone Cements; D057785:Catheters; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D008961:Models, Structural; D011312:Pressure; D013131:Spine
chemical_list: D001843:Bone Cements