Geometric variations of the hip joint can give rise to repeated abnormal contact between the femur and acetabular rim, resulting in cartilage and labrum damage. Population-based geometric parameterisation can facilitate the flexible and automated Parametric geometries can be developed into finite element models to assess the potential effects of morphological variations in bone on soft tissue strains. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the capabilities of our parameterisation research tool by assessing impingement severity resulting from a range of parametrically varied femoral and acetabular geometries. Custom made MATLAB (MathWorks) and Python codes[1] were used to generate bone surfaces, which were developed into finite element models in Abaqus (SIMULIA). Parametric femoral surfaces were defined by a spherical proximal head and ellipse sections through the neck/cam region. This method produced surfaces that were well fitted to bone geometry segmented from CT scans of cam patients and capable of producing trends in results similar to those found using segmented models. A simplified spherical geometry, including the labrum and acetabular cartilage, represented the acetabulum. Femoral parameters were adjusted to define relevant variations in cam size and position. Two radii (small and large cams) and two positions (anterior and superior cams) were defined resulting in four models. Alpha angles of these parametric femurs were measured in an anterior-posterior view and a cross-table lateral view using ImageJ (NIH). A further model was developed using a femur with a medium cam size and position, and the level of acetabular coverage and labrum length were varied. Bones were modelled as rigid bodies and soft tissues were modelled as transversely isotropic linearly elastic materials. With the acetabulum fully constrained in all cases, the femurs were constrained in translation and rotated to simulate flexion followed by internal rotation to cause impingement against the labrum.Introduction
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