3-D SOLID AND FINITE ELEMENT MODELING OF BIOMECHANICAL STRUCTURES - A SOFTWARE PIPELINE

One of the major difficulties of the finite element method applied to computational biomechanics is the complexity associated with the development of patient-specific anatomical models. In this paper, a geometric modeling pipeline developed to create 3-D models from medical image data is presented. Several image and geometric processing blocks make part of the pipeline: image acquisition, image segmentation, surface mesh adjustment, solid model generation and finite element modeling. The input of the pipeline is an ordered stack of medical images with high spatial resolution and tissue contrast. The pipeline outputs geometric models, such as triangular surface meshes and solid models, and finite element meshes suitable for stress analysis, among other applications like visualization and rapid prototyping. The examples here presented are modeled based on computed tomography data, them being, the solid models and the finite element meshes of vertebrae C5 and C6, scapula, humerus, clavicle, mandible and teeth.