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Pacific Research Laboratories, the parent company to Sawbones and Numalogics, formally partnered to make a virtual standardized biomechanical test available to the orthopedic industry.
In the last two years, both companies have worked collaboratively to develop accurate virtual models (Finite Element Models) of a standardized biomechanical test for orthopedic screws. ASTM F543, established by the American Society for Testing & Materials, is the specific standard that describes how orthopedic metallic screws are tested for performance. The standard specifies the use of polyurethane foam to act as bone surrogate, which Sawbones supplies.
The virtual model can be viewed as a virtual bench test whereby any metallic screw can be inserted into a virtual Sawbones polyurethane foam block and tested according to ASTM F543. The validation results of the model show that physical testing performed in real life is accurately represented in the virtual test. This suggests that orthopedic implant designers and manufacturers can now design and test screws at a much lower cost and faster pace, as the prototyping phase can be shortened. Furthermore, the model offers a comprehensive evaluation of screw performance and valuable insights into bone damage mechanics to give opportunities for improvement.
Sawbones supplies bone surrogate materials to the orthopedic industry and is consistently used to perform bench tests on new devices. With the new simulation software, testing with Sawbones will be easier to do in a fast-paced virtual environment. Amy Posch, Design Engineer-Biomechanical at Sawbones, said, “Sawbones strives to offer the most comprehensive, easy to use products that consistently simulate bone characteristics for physical testing. By adding computational simulation to our biomechanical test line, customers will be able to rank, analyze failure and optimize device designs more efficiently.”
Numalogics offers computational modeling & simulation (CM&S) to the orthopedic industry and is one of the first companies in the world to fully automate virtualized ASTM standards. Eric Gaudreau, President of Numalogics, said, “We are very pleased with the validation results. This takes us one step closer to causing a paradigm shift in medical device development whereby R&D and regulatory approval can be accomplished with CM&S. We hope to develop more validated models alongside Sawbones as we are grateful to have a trusted partnership with them.”
Sawbones and Numalogics have entered an agreement whereby the virtual testing models would be made widely available through Sawbone® sales channels. It is expected to be released before fall 2023.
Source: Sawbones
