Authors: M. G. A. Fernandes, M. Vaz, R. M. J. Natal, E. M. M. Fonseca

The osteotomy or bone cutting is a common procedure in orthopedic surgery, mainly in the treatment of fractures and reconstructive surgery. However, the heat produced during the bone drilling is a problem that oppose the benefits of this type of surgery. Studies show that temperatures above 47 ° C cause thermal osteonecrosis and worse with the use of drills by diameters ≥ 4.5 mm, without irrigation. The main goal of this study was to use a method for analyzing the temperature during bone drilling. We used thermocouples type k and a thermal imaging camera for measuring temperature during a drilling process into biomechanical blocks, supplied by Sawbones with similar properties those of human cortical bone. Subsequently, we developed a numerical model to simulate the temperature increase in the bone during the drilling process by finite element analysis. The numerical and experimental results agree and allow identify which situations and more critical regions with more probability for bone necrosis.

M. G. A. Fernandes¹ | M. Vaz² | R. M. J. Natal² | E. M. M. Fonseca³
1 PhD Engenharia Mecânica, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Porto
2 Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Porto
3 Escola Superior de Tecnologia e de Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança