External mechatronic orthopaedic fixators – modelling, computer simulations and clinical experiences

This paper presents some selected issues of modelling and simulation of physical performance of the External Unilateral Mechatronic Orthopaedic Fixator-Bone (EUMOFB) system intended for treatment of shafts of long bones. The model structure includes both a nominal model of the system and a mathematical model design technique. The research inquiry has been limited to discrete models. While considering a clinic postulate of functional treatment of fractures, it has been introduced a stability concept in technical terms. A monitoring method for fracture healing process where both measures of bone union and heuristic techniques depending on artificial feedforward neural networks have been employed is presented too. The test readings were used to build fixators of a new generation. Some results obtained in environment of a clinic are also presented in this paper.