Modélisation biomécanique de l'interaction entre le corset et le tronc dans le traitement de la scoliose

Thoracolumbosacral orthosis is the most common non-surgical treatment in progressive adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. An example of this type of orthsesis, the Boston brace, made of a polypropylene rigid shell and of a foam layer and is tightened by two straps in the back of the patient. The biomechanics of orthotic treatments is a relatively new field and is traditionally based on the expertise of clinicians and on a certain empirism. Few studies have measured the forces at the brace-torso interface and few of them discuss about the loads and the transmission mechanisms from the brace to the spine in the treatment of scoliosis. The aim of this project is to develop a new and more realistic approach of modeling scoliosis brace treatment.

A personalized finite element modeling of the patient, developed in collaborative association between École Polytechnique and Ensam-Paris was used to realize the simulation of the treatment of the brace. A faisability study of a new modeling approach to represent the brace-torso interface was performed on a 16 years old patient having progressive idiopathic scoliosis with Cobb angles of 40.4° and 29.8° respectively for thoracic and lumbar curves. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)