Plated and Intact Femur Strains in Fracture Fixation Using Fiber Bragg Gratings and Strain Gauges

This paper presents an experimental methodology to determine plated and intact femur strains using fiber Bragg gratings and strain gauges. A plated and an intact synthetic femur were used and loaded under a simplistic static load of 600 N. A stainless steel (316L) plate was used to fixate a simulated 45° fracture on one femur. Strains were recoded at the same sites on both femurs. Strain shielding is shown to be more pronounced at the distal region of the plated femur. The experimental methodology based on fiber Bragg grating sensors is a novel approach to assess bone plate strains, which could also be used to obtain biologic tissue and implant surface strains in locations where conventional strain gauge use is not technically feasible.