Investigating the impact of material properties on the simulated response of heel soft tissue in the context of pressure ulcers

Abstract

Pressure Ulcer (PU) prevention remains a main public health issue. The physiopathology of this injury is not fully understood, and satisfactory ther-apy is currently not available. A better assessment of the internal behavior could allow to enhance the modeling of the transmission of loads into the different structures composing the heel. Computational modeling has shown promise in developing a better understanding of the biomechanical response of soft tissue in areas of high risk for PU such as the heel. An MRI-derived patient-specific FE model was developed to investigate heel soft tissue response and the impact of material properties on the tissue displacement and strain. Biplanar radiographs, ultrasound acquisitions, and pressure measurements were collected to inform the development of the model and verify its results. The FE simulations demon-strated variability in compressive strain values and localization in the tissue which informs the conclusions drawn from such models. Further work must be undertaken in characterizing these tissues in the use of such models such that their performance can be beneficial in a clinical setting.