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Project Summary:
Sophisticated virtual reality (VR) simulation techniques exist in the automotive industry particularly in relation to assessing occupant safety during car crashes. These techniques are appropriate for, and will be transferred to, the medical industry. The project will focus on simulation of person-specific responses to stimuli and constraints to enable manufacturers of orthopaedic implants to benefit from the application of technologies currently not available to them.

Project Partners:
Depuy International Limited
Finsbury (Instruments) Limited
Medical Innovations
Pera Innovation
Southampton University Hospital
University of Southampton
Virtual Prototyping Solutions
British Healthcare Trades Association

Need:

There is a lack of a lower body model that could be used to effectively predict the effect of a person’s gait on an orthopaedic implant and, conversely, the effect of the implant on gait in a patient-specific manner.

Solution:

The solution is to import finite element modelling software from the automotive sector – specifically virtual reality software for the prediction of crash dummy responses to impacts – and combine that with patient-specific finite element maps derived from e.g. MRI scans to create patient-specific models.

Benefits:

The industry in the recipient sector will benefit from integration of the new software into training programs for surgeons through development of new surgical instruments and surgical guides and from the further development of the software for use in alternative medical device sectors.