Case Study: Scripps achieves personalized, optimized knee and meniscus solutions with Dassault Systèmes' Abaqus FEA (SIMULIA)

Using Abaqus FEA from SIMULIA to probe the biomechanics of knees

Scripps, the Orthopedic Research Laboratories at the Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research & Education, needed to better understand meniscus damage and optimize knee function for patients facing injury and long‑term osteoarthritis risk. To probe deep tissue mechanics, evaluate surgical alternatives, and design patient‑specific implants, Scripps turned to Dassault Systemes’ SIMULIA Abaqus FEA (and used SIMULIA Isight for optimization) to build realistic biomechanical models.

Using Abaqus FEA, Scripps combined MRI‑based 3D reconstructions and in vivo telemetric load data to create nonlinear, direction‑dependent meniscus models, test replacement shapes and materials, and simulate fixation methods (including virtual stitches). Dassault Systemes’ tools enabled researchers to model complex material properties, customize meniscal replacements to individual patients, optimally position implants to reduce contact stress, and identify fixation approaches that avoid more invasive surgery—accelerating design decisions and advancing future mechanobiology studies.

Scripps

Darryl D’Lima

Laboratory Director