Investigation of the biomechanical behaviour of articular cartilage in hindfoot joints.

Numerical models represent a powerful tool for investigating the biomechanical behavior of articular cartilages, in particular in the case of complex conformation of anatomical site. In the literature, there are complex non-linear-multiphase models for investigating the mechanical response of articular cartilages, but seldom implemented for the analysis of high organized structure such as the foot. In the present work, the biomechanical behavior of foot cartilage is investigated by means of a fiber-reinforced hyperelastic constitutive model. The constitutive parameters are obtained through the comparison between in vitro experimental indentation tests on cartilage and numerical analysis data interpreting the specific experimental conditions. A finite element model of the hindfoot region is developed. Particular attention is paid to model cartilage in order to respect its morphometric configuration, including also the synovial capsule. The reliability of the procedure adopted is evaluated by comparing the numerical response of tibio-talar joint model with in vivo experimental tests mimicking the foot response in stance configuration.