Intro

Finite-element modeling (FEM) gives engineers and clinicians a virtual lab for the body. Instead of cutting bone or running many costly experiments, we build digital bones, discs and implants, apply realistic loads, and watch how the parts behave. This helps teams design safer implants, plan surgeries, and teach students — all while saving time and cost.

Mechanobiology & implant design — why biology matters to engineers

Bone is alive. Tiny cells inside bone — called osteocytes — sense mechanical load and send signals that control bone remodeling. If bone gets less load than usual, the remodeling signal drops and bone density can fall over time. That’s why implants must not only be strong: they must let bone feel the “right” loads, or we risk bone loss around the implant.

FEM lets us link physics and biology. By simulating loads and stress/strain patterns, engineers can predict where bone will see less stimulus and redesign implants to reduce harmful effects. Good implant design is a team sport: engineers provide the models and tools, while orthopedists bring clinical insight about anatomy, function and patient needs.

Quick message:
Osteocytes act as mechanosensors inside bone. Early implant designs focused only on implant strength, but we soon learned implants also change how bone feels load — and that can cause bone loss. FEM helps us go beyond “will it break?” to ask “how will bone respond?” If you work on implant design or biomechanics and want help with models or simulations, DM me.

Related product:
Biomechanics ready to use package is avalible.

Wrist implants — modeling functional motion

The wrist is small and moves in complex, functional paths (for example, combined radial-extension to ulnar-flexion). That complex motion makes wrist implant design challenging: small changes in implant position or shape can strongly affect load transfer and motion.

A ready FE wrist model with an implant is a great starting point. With a prepared mesh, contact definitions and loading steps that mimic functional motion, you can:

• compare implant positions or sizes,
• test different contact settings or materials, and
• explore how the implant changes load paths through carpal bones.

FEM studies of wrist implants help engineers reduce stress concentrations, improve articulation, and predict where bone might be at risk of losing density.

Related product:
Wrist FE model (INP from HyperMesh, prepared steps and documentation). Download from EngineeringDownloads to run in Abaqus or translate to other solvers.

Cervical spine prostheses — shape optimization and patient-specific work

The neck is a high-mobility, high-importance region. Cervical disc prostheses aim to restore natural motion while protecting bone and adjacent segments. FEM is powerful here because it can:

• map stress patterns on metallic plates and polymer cores,
• guide shape optimization to reduce peak stresses, and
• support patient-specific studies that compare spine mechanics before and after fusion or disc replacement.

Shape optimization can reduce stress concentrations on joint surfaces and improve load sharing with the surrounding bone — which may improve durability and reduce harmful load transfer to bone tissue.

Related product:
FE models for cervical disc studies and shape-optimization-ready geometries are available on EngineeringDownloads for researchers and clinicians exploring prosthesis design.

Mandibular plates — fixing jaw fractures with better placement

The jaw sees big, dynamic loads during chewing. For subcondylar fractures, where the break is near the condyle, plate position, number and length matter. FEM shows that:

• two plates generally offer more stability than one,
• longer plates can reduce movement at the fracture site, and
• placing plates closer to the posterior margin of the fracture often reduces sliding and improves fixation.

These findings help surgeons choose fixation strategies and help engineers design plates that perform better under realistic bite loads.

Related product:
Mandible FE kits with miniplate and screw models (multiple placement strategies) are on EngineeringDownloads for testing and teaching.

Dental implants — thread geometry and bone response

Small geometric choices on dental implants — like thread pitch — change how loads spread into cortical and cancellous bone. FEM studies indicate that thread geometry influences stresses differently depending on load direction and bone quality. In general:

• implant geometry can be tuned to reduce peak stresses in softer bone, and
• thread choices are a trade-off between stress distribution, primary stability during insertion, and the contact area for biological integration.

Designers should combine FEA results with surgical needs and bone quality to pick the best thread form for a given patient.

Related product:
Dental implant FE models with variable thread profiles and easy parameter changes are available on EngineeringDownloads for design studies and tests.

Practical tips for users 

• Start simple: run a basic static step first to check contacts and materials.
• Validate often: compare FE results to experiments or published data when possible.
• Think biologically: low stress on an implant isn’t always good — bone needs stimulus to stay healthy.
• Work together: successful implant design combines engineering analysis and clinical experience.

Finaly

If you’re building models, teaching biomechanics, or designing implants, FEM is a practical bridge between physics and biology. Each section above links to related FE products on EngineeringDownloads — grab a ready-to-run model to speed your work and focus on real questions instead of hours of pre-processing.

Want help choosing the right product or running a quick check on a simulation? DM me or visit the EngineeringDownloads product page for each section to download the model and documentation.