Development of a 3-y-old Pediatric Cervical Spine Finite Element Model

A 3-year-old pediatric cervical spine finite element (FE) model with detailed anatomical and material properties was developed and validated against cadaver tests under both quasi-static loadings. First, bone geometry was reconstructed based on high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans, and elastic-plastic material was defined to simulate the cortical and cancellous bones. To simulate various ligament tears during dynamic tensile, ligament failure was defined using force versus displacement curves, which had a sigmoidal shape governed by three control points. To better represent the complicated structure of the disc, nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus substrate and four pairs of reinforced fiber lamina, intervertebral discs were defined using composite materials combined with viscoelastic material, hill foam material and four pairs of reinforced fiber lamina, respectively. This FE model could be utilized in prediction of cervical spine fracture, ligament and disc tear underlying pediatric cervical injuries.