Design and Development of a 3D Printable Neck Brace- A Finite Element Approach

Abstract

Introduction: Neck braces are commonly used to immobilise and support the neck and spinal cord. Even though neck brace has given significant assistance for proper management of cervical spine injuries, it offers a false sense of security where it might prevent additional and further spinal cord injury. Customised neck brace can provide additional comfort. Furthermore, doctor’s views and opinions were taken into consideration and the design has been altered and also can be made customisable to suit every patient, ensuring their comfort at the same time. Aim: To design a 3D printable neck brace and to evaluate it numerically by means of Finite Element Modelling (FEM). Materials and Methods: The model was designed in Autodesk Fusion 360 software and then was imported into HyperWorks for further analysis. Polylactic Acid (PLA) was assigned as a material to the model and it was analysed under two conditions after assignment of materials properties such as young’s modulus, density and Poisson’s ratio. HyperView was utilised to visualise the results of the linear static analysis to further enhance the model. Results: The maximum displacement, stress and strain of the model was observed in the posterior and interior segments which was found to be 1.813E-06, 1.109E+0, 4.805E-02 respectively upon application of a force of 20 N and 1.656E-06, 1.202E+03, 2.286E-07 respectively when a force of 100 N was applied. Conclusion: The study found varying stress, strain and displacement values upon application of an external force which was used in the evaluation of the model. It was also found that PLA material led to better alignment and strength of the overall model and a mixture of PLA and natural rubber can be used as a viable 3D printing filament.