Intervertebral disc creep behavior assessment through an open source finite element solver

Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is one of the largest health problems faced worldwide, based on lost working time and associated costs. By means of this motivation, this work aims to evaluate a biomimetic Finite Element (FE) model of the Intervertebral Disc (IVD). Recent studies have emphasized the importance of an accurate biomechanical modeling of the IVD, as it is a highly complex multiphasic medium. Poroelastic models of the disc are mostly implemented in commercial finite element packages with limited access to the algorithms. Therefore, a novel poroelastic formulation implemented on a home-developed open source FE solver is briefly addressed throughout this paper. The combination of this formulation with biphasic osmotic swelling behavior is also taken into account. Numerical simulations were devoted to the analysis of the non-degenerated human lumbar IVD time-dependent behavior. The results of the tests performed for creep assessment were inside the scope of the experimental data, with a remarkable improvement of the numerical accuracy when compared with previously published results obtained with ABAQUS®. In brief, this in-development open-source FE solver was validated with literature experimental data and aims to be a valuable tool to study the IVD biomechanics and DDD mechanisms.