| Summary: | Osteoarthritis is a common type of arthritis that breaks down the joint tissue, known as
cartilage. This causes the bones to rub against each other, causing pain and loss of
movement especially in weight-bearing joints in the knees, hips, feet and the back. In
recent years, synovial fluid therapy is often used in patients with Osteoarthritis, where the
fluid is directly injected into the tissue which acts as a lubricant in the joint. The fluid is
based on Hyaluronan (HA), a pure solution of sodium hyaluronate and is a natural
constituent of the human body. This study deals with the simulation and analysis of the
Fluid Therapy and an aim to optimize the procedure as a function of characteristics and
also disease stage. The tissue or cartilage has been modeled as biphasic and the
simulation has been done using Fluid-Structure interaction using Sysnoise, commercially
available FEM software. Different case studies related to cartilage damage have been
analyzed and the results have been compared with the actual therapeutic procedure of
fluid therapy. The results are provided in terms of the fluid velocity that helps the fluid to
void the space inside the cartilage or the synovial joint. During actual fluid therapy, the
fluid is expected to void between a period of 7 – 14 days, which is why the injections are
give either weekly or biweekly. Results show that few patients, suffering from arthritis,
can experience relief for a period of up to six months with the help of fluid therapy, with
appropriate quantity of fluid and the concentration of HA in the fluid among other
conditions. The present work provides an opportunity to optimize the fluid therapy
procedure based on parameters, such as fluid volume and its thermophysical properties.
Results from the study indicate that treatment can be custom designed by considering the
concentration of HA in the synovial fluid injection, its viscosity, the weight and condition
of the patient and the stage of the disease. With fluid therapy being considered
increasingly, optimization procedure would be of valuable medical help and of
substantial economic benefit to patients. === Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering === "December 2006."
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