Medical Engineering & Physics
Volume 32, Issue 4 , Pages 324-331, May 2010

Effects of internal stress concentrations in plantar soft-tissue—A preliminary three-dimensional finite element analysis

  • Wen-Ming Chen

      Affiliations

    • Division of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
    • Equal contribution as first author.
    • ,
  • Taeyong Lee

      Affiliations

    • Division of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
    • Equal contribution as first author.
    • ,
  • Peter Vee-Sin Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, University of Melbourne, Australia
    • ,
  • Jin Woo Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yonsei University, Republic of Korea
    • ,
  • Sung-Jae Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Science & Engineering, Inje University, 607 O-bang, Gimhae, Gyongnam, 621-749, Republic of Korea
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +82 55 320 3452; fax: +82 55 320 3292.

Received 26 October 2009; received in revised form 26 December 2009; accepted 6 January 2010. published online 01 February 2010.

Abstract 

It has been hypothesized that diabetic foot ulceration might be internally initiated. This study established a three-dimensional and nonlinear finite element model of a human foot complex with comprehensive skeletal and soft-tissue components. The model was validated by experimental data of subject-specific barefoot plantar pressure measurements. The feasibility of the model to predict the 3D, internal, plantar soft-tissue deformation and stress was evaluated. The preliminary results indicate that large von Mises stress occurs where plantar soft-tissue contacts with geometrically irregular bony structures, thus internal stress distribution within the plantar soft-tissue was dramatically influenced by bony prominences due to stress concentration. At the forefoot part, an average stress magnification factor of 3.01 was quantified. The lateral sesamoid bone associated to the 1st MTH showed the largest effect of stress concentration. The modeling approach presented provides a possible way to explore the complexity of the mechanical environment inside the plantar soft-tissue.

Keywords: Foot plantar soft-tissue, Stress concentration, Internal tissue stresses, Finite element model

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PII: S1350-4533(10)00002-0

doi:10.1016/j.medengphy.2010.01.001

Medical Engineering & Physics
Volume 32, Issue 4 , Pages 324-331, May 2010

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