Optimisation of vertebroplasty to minimise adjacent vertebral failure

许多老年人患有骨质疏松症，这导致他们的骨头很容易断裂。最常见的骨折发生的地方之一是脊柱的椎骨。这些骨折很难治疗，许多患者忍受着长期的疼痛。最近，一种新的锁眼手术方法被引入治疗这些类型的损伤。这种被称为“椎体成形术”的治疗方法是通过细针将一种特殊的水泥注射到脊柱中，将骨折处固定在一起。早期的结果是积极的，大多数患者说他们在治疗后疼痛减轻了很多。然而，最近有报道称椎体成形术可能会增加患者周围椎体骨折的风险。目前，人们对水泥的硬度和注入量知之甚少。这个项目的目的是开发脊柱的计算机模型，可以用来预测水泥对脊柱周围区域的影响。为了验证这些模型做出了正确的预测，首先需要对照实验室进行的实验测试来验证结果。然后，计算机模型将用于比较许多不同类型和体积的水泥。目的是找到最佳的组合，以减少周围椎骨发生更多骨折的风险。

Many elderly people suffer from osteoporosis, which causes their bones to break very easily. One of the most common places for a fracture to occur is in the vertebrae of the spine. These fractures are difficult to treat and many patients suffer from long-term pain. Recently, a new method of keyhole surgery has been introduced to treat these types of injury. The treatment, called 'vertebroplasty' involves injecting a special cement through a fine needle into the spine to hold the fracture together. Early results have been positive, with the majority of patients saying they are in much less pain after the treatment. However, recently there have been reports that vertebroplasty may increase the risk of the patient having more fractures in the surrounding vertebrae. At the moment, little is know about how stiff the cement should be or how much to inject. The aim of this project is to develop computer models of the spine that can be used to predict what effects the cement will have on the surrounding region of the spine. To check these models make the right predictions, the results first need to be checked against experimental tests undertaken in the laboratory. Then, the computer models will be used to compare many different types and volumes of cement. The aim is to find the optimum combination that will reduce the risk of more fractures happening in the surrounding vertebrae.