Mechanics of damage in biological soft tissues

生物软组织损伤机制

• 批准号: 261630-2008
• 负责人: Thornton, Gail
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=395142
• 关键词: Mechanics; damage; biological; soft; tissues

Knee ligament injuries are common, in fact, 1 in 3000 people suffer an injury to their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) every year. Ligaments are soft biological tissues that connect bones across a joint. Knee ligaments guide joint motion and maintain joint stability by resisting forces that tend to separate the bones of the joint. Some ligaments heal after injury by producing scar tissue that reconnects the torn ligament ends. When ligaments are not able to heal and reconnect the torn ligament ends, surgery is required to reconstruct the injured ligament. In some percentage of patients, injured and reconstructed ligaments do not maintain joint stability and appear to have "stretched out", leaving the patient susceptible to the development of painful osteoarthritis. Unfortunately, the reasons for poor healing of ligaments remain unclear. However, the current proposal questions whether the healing process is able to keep pace with the mechanical demands placed on the ligament. If the mechanical demands exceed the healing potential, damage may accumulate in the ligament as it heals. Normal daily loading for ligament involves sustained and repeated loading; the engineering terms for which are creep and fatigue, respectively. Creep and fatigue loading can cause damage to accumulate in a healing ligament. The exciting innovation of the proposed study is to apply the established engineering principles of continuum damage mechanics to a new problem from the field of biology and medicine, which is poor resolution of ligament healing. Experimental mechanical tests and theoretical mathematical models will be applied to help engineers and orthopaedic surgeons alike understand how damage accumulates in healing ligaments. The intended benefit of this research program is improved treatment of patients with knee ligament injuries.

膝关节韧带损伤很常见，事实上，每年每3000人中就有1人遭受前十字韧带（ACL）损伤。 韧带是一种软的生物组织，通过关节连接骨骼。 膝关节韧带引导关节运动并通过抵抗倾向于分离关节骨的力来维持关节稳定性。 有些韧带在受伤后通过产生疤痕组织来重新连接撕裂的韧带末端而愈合。 当韧带不能愈合和重新连接撕裂的韧带末端时，需要手术来重建受伤的韧带。 在一定比例的患者中，受伤和重建的韧带无法保持关节稳定性，并且似乎“伸展”，使患者容易患上疼痛的骨关节炎。 不幸的是，韧带愈合不良的原因仍不清楚。 然而，目前的建议质疑愈合过程是否能够跟上韧带上的机械要求。 如果机械需求超过愈合潜力，则损伤可能在韧带愈合时累积。 韧带的正常日常负荷包括持续和重复负荷;其工程术语分别为蠕变和疲劳。 蠕变和疲劳载荷可导致损伤在愈合韧带中累积。 这项研究的令人兴奋的创新之处在于将连续损伤力学的既定工程原理应用于生物学和医学领域的一个新问题，即韧带愈合的分辨率差。 实验力学测试和理论数学模型将被应用于帮助工程师和整形外科医生了解损伤如何在愈合的韧带中积累。 本研究计划的预期受益是改善膝关节韧带损伤患者的治疗。