A First Step Toward Patient-Specific Cervical Spine Finite Element Modeling Approaches for Military and Civilian Applications

Abstract Spine finite element modeling started more than six decades ago. While the automotive industry has been using this tool for a long time, the medical field has begun to embrace finite element modeling to assist in the decision-making process for the health provider as well as help in the patient education/counseling process. Finite element modeling in the medical field has progressed from the use of X-rays to modern imaging. Laboratory experiments have been designed with newer instrumentation and data acquisition techniques to develop improved constitutive models for spinal components such as the intervertebral disc. However, most spinal models in civilian and military literature have largely confined to a generic or a single geometry and one single set of material properties. This review discusses the role of generic geometry and single material property dataset-based (described in the body of the paper) human cervical spine finite element models for applications to individual patients. The need for the development of accurate models at the individual patient level is discussed. Such efforts should lead to patient-specific modeling for an improved understanding of the spinal responses in different scenarios for surgical decision-making, and individual patient's education and expectations. Patient-specific finite element modeling is a powerful tool for civilian and military spine applications, and its full potential is yet to be realized.