Biomechanical optimization of the magnesium alloy bionic cannulated screw for stabilizing femoral neck fractures: a finite element analysis

Yunwei Cui; Kai Ding; Hongzhi Lv; Xiaodong Cheng; Zixi Fan; Dacheng Sun; Yifan Zhang; Wei Chen; Yingze Zhang

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2024.1448527

Biomechanical optimization of the magnesium alloy bionic cannulated screw for stabilizing femoral neck fractures: a finite element analysis

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024 Aug 30:12:1448527. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1448527. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yunwei Cui^#^{1

2

3

4}, Kai Ding^#^{1

2

3

4}, Hongzhi Lv^{1

2

3

4}, Xiaodong Cheng^{1

2

3

4}, Zixi Fan^{1

2

3

4}, Dacheng Sun^{1

2

3

4}, Yifan Zhang^{1

2

3

4}, Wei Chen^{1

2

3

4}, Yingze Zhang^{1

2

3

5

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of orthopaedic surgery, Hebei Orthopaedic Clinical Research Center, Hebei Medical University Third Hospital, Shijiazhuang, China.
² Key Laboratory of Biomechanics of Hebei Province, Orthopaedic Research Institute of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, China.
³ NHC Key Laboratory of Intelligent Orthopaedic Equipment, Hebei Medical University Third Hospital, Shijiazhuang, China.
⁴ Engineering Research Center of Orthopaedic Minimally Invasive Intelligent Equipment, Ministry of Education, Shijiazhuang, China.
⁵ Chinese Academy of Engineering, Bingjiaokou Hutong, Bejing, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purposes: The magnesium alloy bionic cannulated screw (MABCS) was designed in a previous study promoting cortical-cancellous biphasic healing of femoral neck fractures. The main purpose was to analyze the bore diameters that satisfy the torsion standards and further analyze the optimal pore and implantation direction for stabilizing femoral neck fractures.

Methods: The MABCS design with bionic holes with a screw diameter of less than 20% met the torsion standard for metal screws. The MABCS was utilized to repair the femoral neck fracture via Abaqus 6.14 software, which simulated the various stages of fracture healing to identify the optimal biomechanical environment for bionic hole size (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) and implantation direction (0°, 45°, 90°, and 135°).

Results: The stress distribution of the MABCS fracture fixation model is significantly improved with an implantation orientation of 90°. The MABCS with a bionic hole and a screw diameter of 10% provides optimal stress distribution compared with the bionic cannulated screw with diameters of 5%, 15%, and 20%. In addition, the cannulated screw fixation model with a 10% bionic hole size has optimal bone stress distribution and better internal fixation than the MABCS fixation models with 5%, 15%, and 20% screw diameters.

Conclusion: In summary, the MABCS with 10% screw diameter bionic holes has favorable biomechanical characteristics for stabilizing femoral neck fractures. This study provides a biomechanical foundation for further optimization of the bionic cannulated screw.

Keywords: bionic hole; finite element analysis; implantation direction; magnesium alloy bionic cannulated screw; optimal diameter.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Support Program for Key Research and Development Program of Hebei Province (grant no. 22377770D), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos 82072447 and 82102584), and the Health Committee for Scientific Research Fund Project in Hebei Province (Grant No. 20242277).