Date of Award

4-2020

Access Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair

Victor A. Huayamave, Ph.D.

Abstract

Developmental Dysplasia of the hip is a condition that affects 1 to 3 of every 1000 infants born globally. It is a pathology that involves the instability, subluxation, or dislocation of the femoral head from the acetabulum. Through a rating system by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute or Graf System, hips are rated based on their level of instability or dislocation and the infant is then prescribed a treatment. While Finite element models of dysplastic hips have been developed previously, a study that seeks to understand the contribution of an abduction contracture of the hip has yet to be performed. This assessment and evaluation could impact the way future models are made and could provide guidelines for what muscles are taken into account during modeling. Therefore, through the evaluation and comparison of three models with varying levels of abduction contracture, conclusions can be drawn as to the importance of various muscles and their contribution to developmental dysplasia. These models were developed from a set of CT scans and then used current musculature and skeletal properties in order to properly construct the hip joint. Comparisons between the stresses in each of the models are then made between the hip joints as well as between simulated values and currently available experimental values. The models then show, through engineering stress distributions and concentrations, how detrimental an abduction contracture can be to an infant and that if the condition is prolonged there is a possibility of development of dysplasia or, at minimum, a malformation of the acetabulum.

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