A new Proposal on Analysis of the Interfragmentary Displacements in the Fracture Gap

Research activities in the field of modern Biomedical engineering show a more intense trend towards the use of sophisticated engineering measurement tools in order to optimize existing medical devices. External fixators are such an example of the above mentioned. Critical design parameters are being optimized by the use of existing engineering research methodology. One of the most important parameter for external fixators that have to be tracked are the interfragmentary displacements between the proximal and distal bone segment. This is usually achieved by the use of a finite element method. Another way is the use of displacement sensors or transducers. To verify these numerical results and to gain additional real life footage of interfragmentary displacements during testing, the use of a high speed camera has been taken into consideration. This paper compares previously acquired numerical data for a specific external fixator design parallel to the same setup whilst being recorded with a high speed camera. Results indicate good superposition with previously obtained data.