Analysis of stress and strain energy fields in craniofacial fracture

Skull is one of the major and complicated structures in human body. Significant amount of research has been made in treating the injuries and abnormalities of skull in medical field. Research is also going on in studying the behavior of skull under various loading conditions, developing new methodologies and materials for treatment in the field. Such attempts are also increasing in mechanical field, be it research on implant materials, fixation angle, finite element study etc. One such attempt has been made in this paper where the virgin human skull has been modeled using the CT scan data and analyzed for the stresses and strains that are developed in the skull due to different impact loading conditions. The fixative techniques being used by most of the surgeons are based on the experience. An attempt has been made in this paper to suggest the locations for placing the miniplates, implants and micro screws to optimize the number of implants used for the fixation. This is further expected to reduce the trauma on the patient without compromising the effectiveness and efficiency of such implants. Non-linear finite element approach is used for this purpose wherein finite element models of both the virgin skull and skull with different number of miniplates are modeled and studied individually.