A recently developed parametric geometrical finite element model (p-FEM) was adapted to the specific hip geometric measurements of a group of patients with slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE). The objective was to analyze the stress distribution in the growth plate of these patients and to evaluate differences for those patients who developed bilateral disease.

Different geometric parameters were measured in the healthy proximal femur of 18 adolescents (mean age, 12,1 yr) with unilateral SCFE and in 23 adolescents matched in age without hip disease (control group). Five patients developed SCFE in the contralateral side during follow-up. Different geometric measurements were taken from hip conventional X-ray studies. The p-FEM of the proximal femur permits modifications of different geometrical parameters, therefore the X-ray measurements taken from each patient were applied to the model obtaining a subject-specific model for each case. In each model, different mechanical situations such as walking, stairs climbing and sitting were simulated by applying loads on the femoral head corresponding to each own weight. The risk for growth plate failure was estimated by the Tresca, von Misses and Rankine stresses.

In summary, the models shows important differences between the stresses computed at the healthy femurs of patients with unilateral SCFE and femurs that further underwent bilateral SCFE. So, the 95% confidence interval of the percentage of volume of the growth plate subjected to stresses higher than 2MPa was almost similar for the control group and patients with unilateral SCFE. However, those patients who developed bilateral disease had statistically significant large physeal areas with more than 2.0 MPa (p< 0.005). Stresses were also strongly dependent on the geometry of the proximal femur, especially on the posterior sloping angle of the physis and the physeal sloping angle.

In spite of simplifications of the developed p-FEM, this tool has been able to show the influence of femur geometry in growth plate stresses and to predict the sites where growth plate starts to fail.

Hip Resurfacing (HR) is nowadays widely used as an alternative to Total Hip Replacement (THR), especially for the young and active patients. Because of the more physiological distribution of the load in the femur, this technique is particularly known to reduce bone loss due to stress shielding behaviour, a major problem encountered with THA. Different computational studies have analysed the performance of HR prostheses. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to apply a computational approach, in fact a bone remodelling analysis, in order to investigate its application to evaluate the bone structure changes postoperatively.

A Finite Element model was developed of a femur with HR prosthesis. The model was reconstructed starting with the femur medical images, and then the prosthesis was positioned in the clinical implantation angle (5° valgus). A cement mantle thickness of 1mm was included. Then a Finite Element Analysis in combination with a bone remodelling model (bone material properties) was performed. The results obtained predict as there is a certain bone loss in the superolateral and inferior medial zone. Additional bone material apposition is locally found with the aim of fixing the implant stem on the medial side, but also a remarkable distal ingrowth around the stem tip. All these findings are in good qualitative agreement with clinical observations.

We conclude that the numerical simulation used in this study is a useful tool in predicting bone remodelling inside a cemented HR prosthesis. This kind of methodologies will help on the design of devices, surgical techniques, etc.

Hyaline cartilage is a support tissue with a poor capacity to self repair. In the last years, tissue engineering and cell therapy have focused its efforts in the development of scaffolds that may support the differentiation and the implantation of mesnechymal stem cells (MSC) in the site of lesions performed in femoral cartilage. Among synthetic materials used for the construction of these scaffolds, poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a suitable option, since some studies have offered promising results. The use of PLLA, nevertheles has an important handicap, as cell seeding easily results in a non uniform distribution and a poor density of cells, wich have been proposed as key steps for the differentiation of MSCs to chondrocytes. In our work we have cultured sheep MSCs, and proved its potentiallity by differentiation to chondrocytes in micromass culture. PLLA scaffolds 1 mm thick and 6 mm in diameter were characterized by determining their porosity and their mechanical properties, and subsequently were used to assay the seeding of MSCs. We measured efficiency and retention by quantification of DNA, and density and distribution by light microscopy of paraffin sections. Our results describe a simple technique of cell seeding by aspirating cells with a syringe that achieves a uniform distribution and a high density of cells. Finally 3D seeded MSCs were cultured with condrogenic medium containing TGF-β3 for 21 days and results analyzed by massons trichrome staining in paraffin embedded sections.