Lightning Presentation Sydney Spinal Symposium 2026

Aims This study aimed to evaluate how cervical spine finite element model (FEM) development methods influence predictions of vertebral and facet failure during injurious loading, using specimen-specific experimental data for validation.   Methods FEMs of isolated subaxial cervical vertebrae (C3-C7) were generated from computed tomography scans using four model development workflows. Methods 1 and 2 used segmented, multi-component geometries representing the posterior elements and cortical shell, vertebral body volume, bony endplates, cartilaginous endplates, annulus fibrosus, and nucleus pulposus. Methods 3 and 4 used a simplified single-component geometry for each vertebra. Methods 1 and 3 applied generic bone material properties, whereas Methods 2 and 4 incorporated CT-informed, specimen-specific vertebral material properties [1]. Model outputs will be compared with corresponding experimental failure data to assess each workflow’s ability to reproduce observed vertebral and facet failure behaviour.   Results Model development and validation are currently in progress. The analysis will compare predicted load-displacement responses, failure locations, and failure patterns against experimental observations. We hypothesise that the simplified single-component geometry with CT-informed material properties (Method 4) will provide the most representative balance between anatomical fidelity, computational efficiency, and agreement with experimental failure behaviour.   Conclusion This study will identify an efficient and experimentally validated workflow for developing specimen-specific cervical spine FEMs from clinical imaging data. Establishing a robust modelling approach will support future parametric analyses of the loading and anatomical factors that drive cervical vertebral and facet failure during injurious spinal loading.