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Strategies towards rapid generation of forefoot model incorporating realistic geometry of metatarsals encapsulated into lumped soft tissues for personalized finite element analysis |
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| Authors: | Wen-Ming Chen Sung-Jae Lee Peter Vee Sin Lee |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Prosthetics &2. Orthotics, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China;3. Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Assistive Devices, Shanghai, China;4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Inje University, Gimhae, South Korea;5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia |
| Abstract: | Use of finite element (FE) foot model as a clinical diagnostics tool is likely to improve the specificity of foot injury predictions in the diabetic population. Here we proposed a novel workflow for rapid construction of foot FE model incorporating realistic geometry of metatarsals encapsulated into lumped forefoot’s soft tissues. Custom algorithms were implemented to perform unsupervised segmentation and mesh generation to directly convert CT data into a usable FE model. The automatically generated model provided higher efficiency and comparable numerical accuracy when compared to the model constructed using a traditional solid-based mesh process. The entire procedure uses MATLAB as the main platform, and makes the present approach attractive for creating personalized foot models to be used in clinical studies. |
| Keywords: | Foot model clinical diagnostics foot ulceration plantar pressure |