D. Remmler et al., Pre-surgical CT/FEA for craniofacial distraction: I. Methodology, development, and validation of the cranial finite element model, MED ENG PHY, 20(8), 1998, pp. 607-619
Recently, surgeons have begun to treat serious congenital craniofacial defo
rmities including craniosynostoses with mechanical devices that gradually d
istract the skull. As a prospective means of treatment planning for such co
mplex deformities, FE models derived from routine preoperative CT scans (CT
/FEA) would provide ideal patient specific engineering analyses. The purpos
e of this study was to assess the dimensional and predictive accuracy of th
e CT/FEA process through the development of a 3D model of a dry human calva
rium subjected to two-point distraction ex vivo. Comparative skull measurem
ents revealed that CT/FEA construction error did not exceed 1% for transcra
nial dimensions, and the thickness error did not exceed 8.66% or 0.31 mm. C
T/FEA strain predictions for the central region of the skull, between the d
istraction posts, were not statistically different from homologous gage val
ues at P < 0.05. Peripherally, however, the strain fields were less well be
haved and the FE predictions showed only general qualitative agreement with
gage recordings. (C) 1998 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. ALI rig
hts reserved.