title: Three-dimensional finite analysis of acetabular contact pressure and contact area during normal walking.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aims to analyze the contact areas and pressure distributions between the femoral head and mortar during normal walking using a three-dimensional finite element model (3D-FEM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Computed tomography (CT) scanning technology and a computer image processing system were used to establish the 3D-FEM. The acetabular mortar model was used to simulate the pressures during 32 consecutive normal walking phases and the contact areas at different phases were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The distribution of the pressure peak values during the 32 consecutive normal walking phases was bimodal, which reached the peak (4.2 Mpa) at the initial phase where the contact area was significantly higher than that at the stepping phase. The sites that always kept contact were concentrated on the acetabular top and leaned inwards, while the anterior and posterior acetabular horns had no pressure concentration. The pressure distributions of acetabular cartilage at different phases were significantly different, the zone of increased pressure at the support phase distributed at the acetabular top area, while that at the stepping phase distributed in the inside of acetabular cartilage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The zones of increased contact pressure and the distributions of acetabular contact areas had important significance towards clinical researches, and could indicate the inductive factors of acetabular osteoarthritis.
authors: Department of Orthopaedics, Shenzhen Baoan Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen 518101, China. Electronic address: guangyewangdoc@163.com.
authors: Guangye
authors: G
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Orthopaedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China.
authors: Wenjun
authors: W
authors: Huang
authors: Department of Orthopaedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China.
authors: Qi
authors: Q
authors: Song
authors: Department of Orthopaedics, Shenzhen Baoan Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen 518101, China.
authors: Jinfeng
authors: J
authors: Liang
mesh_terms: D000077:Acetabulum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D019245:Compressive Strength; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: 3D finite element model; acetabular contact area; contact pressure