Case Study: NuVasive achieves over 65% faster simulations and accurate lumbar spine hexahedral meshing with Altair HyperMesh

Solid Hex Meshing the Human Lumbar Spine

NuVasive Inc., a San Diego–based medical device company specializing in minimally disruptive spine surgery (XLIF®), needed to predict device performance and ensure safety and efficacy before building physical prototypes. To address this challenge they worked with Altair, deploying Altair’s HyperMesh pre‑processing tools from the HyperWorks suite to create repeatable hexahedral (HEXA) finite‑element models of the human lumbar spine.

Altair implemented a HyperMesh‑based workflow—using HEXA solid meshing and the HyperMorph morphing tools to produce high‑quality hex–tet meshes and partitioned geometry—which reduced model development and simulation time by over 65% (typical runs dropped from ~12 to ~4 hours), improved analysis accuracy and efficiency, and enabled NuVasive to run more studies, predict implant‑induced stresses, and accelerate device development.

NuVasive

Jeff Harris

Senior Engineer, Computational Biomechanics