Development and in vitro evaluation of an artificial spinal disc loading cell

One of the common diseases for chronic low back pain is Disc Degeneration Disease (DDD). In this disease, spinal intervertebral disc loses its ability to safely handle the mechanical stresses. The knowledge of the in-vivo loading on the spinal disk is of great importance in the understanding of low back pain. In this study a loading cell has been developed utilizing an artificial spinal disc which was loaded with strain gauges and piezoresistive sensors in an effort to investigate the behavior of the sensors during in vitro loading of the disc. The artificial disc with all sensors was loaded in a laboratory environment. The in vitro loading produced reliable and repeatable results and therefore suggesting that such approach might aid in the development of an artificial intelligent disc which will contribute in the better understanding of the in vivo loading of the human spine.