The Simulation of Mechanical States of Repaired Articular Cartilage

Though cartilage tissue is susceptible to damage and difficult to self-repair, cartilage tissue engineering provides an ideal way for the treatment of cartilage defects. Mechanical environments have significant effects on the growth and development of cartilage. The research of mechanical states of repaired articular cartilage by tissue engineering has significantly clinical value. According to the physical structure and movement modes of the knee, a model for the treatment of cartilage defects by tissue engineering was established based on the finite element method, with a rolling depression load as the mechanical condition. Defect models of articular cartilage were represented by three different indicators: defect width, depth and the elastic modulus of artificial cartilage implanted. By finite element simulating, we theoretically studied the mechanical states of articular cartilage repaired by tissue engineering. The results show that the mechanical states varied in different parts of the defect, and some stresses in the tissue engineered cartilage or host cartilage deviated obviously from normally physiological conditions of the knee. An artificial cartilage with certain mechanical properties may contribute to the repair of cartilage defects by tissue engineering.