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| Heidi-Lynn Ploeg |
| Heidi-Lynn Ploeg Assistant Professor
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| Primary Address:
Postal Address: Mechanical Engineering, 1513 University Avenue Madison, WI 53706-1572 Tel: 608/262-2690 Fax: 608/265-2316 E-mail: ploeg@engr.wisc.edu |
Secondary Address:
Office:
3043 Mechanical Engineering Tel: Skype: heidiploeg |
Prof. Ploeg's research goal is to understand the human musculo-skeletal system better, in order to aid the development of biomechanical and safe solutions for the care and treatment of diseased or injured systems. She plans to continue her research in this area, focusing on validated finite element modelling of the human musculo-skeletal system, and aiming towards the integration of computer aided surgery and structural analysis. Her research includes (1) finite element modelling of human joints, and (2) fatigue test development and prediction for design approval of orthopaedic implants.
(1) Finite Element Modelling of Bones and Joints
Finite element (FE) models can be used to develop the understanding of human joint biomechanics and to aid the development of biomechanical solutions for the care and treatment of diseased or injured joints. There are several advantages to using FE models of human joints over cadaver specimens, including repeatability, reproducibility, adaptability, accessibility and transferability. FE models do not replace but compliment cadaver specimens. Cadaver specimens are required to generate and validate accurate computer models; and, FE models are required to design and analyse efficient experiments on cadaver specimens. The development of an accurate human joint model requires anthropometric and material data of the bone and surrounding tissues, definition of the boundary conditions, and validation. Using bone-remodelling algorithms, an accurate FE model may also be used to predict bone adaptation due to changes in its loading environment, for example due to a surgical procedure or implant.
(2) Component Fatigue Testing for Orthopaedic Implant Design Approval
Component fatigue testing is required to help ensure that orthopaedic implants are safe from fatigue failure during clinical use. Few component fatigue tests are standardised and the development of new implants often requires the development of new fatigue tests. Due to the sample sizes required to determine a component’s fatigue strength, fatigue testing is expensive and time consuming. It is therefore important to plan fatigue test series carefully. Fatigue test prediction aids the planning of an efficient fatigue test series and can be applied early in the design process to reduce the risk of discovering a weak design during component fatigue testing, the final step before design approval.
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Copyright 2007 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System Date last modified: 17-Nov-2007 Content by: ploeg@engr.wisc.edu Accessibility Web services Thank you for visiting http://www.engr.wisc.edu/me/faculty/ploeg_heidi-lynn.html |