FEM (Finite Element Method) analyses the impact of mechanical loads e.g. ‘stress’. It was principally used in engineering (for example aerospace), but increasingly also medical research
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At the moment, we do not have medical investigations which are able to represent accurately the significance of spinal cord injury. For example, you could have two patients with exactly the same MRI changes, one who is without symptoms and the other who is severely affected.
This is a major challenge for researchers, with many exploring new tools to provide better assessment methods. However, amongst this confusion, age seems to be important as the number of people with symptomatic cord compression increases with age. Moreover, some have shown that age can affect response to surgery. |
A group from Japan have been experimenting using a preclinical (animal) model, to investigate how spinal cords of different ages react to the same compression force. Using a technique called Finite Element Method, more typically used in engineering, they have shown that in an older spinal cord the same amount of compression causes a much higher stress to the spinal cord tissue, than in a younger spinal cord. This was the same for sudden or slow compressive forces.
Of course this experiment has not been conducted on human spinal cords, but the findings are in keeping with a wider experience of aging and CSM and is a further reminder of the need for more sophisticated tools to represent the extent of spinal cord injury in CSM.
Reference
1. Okazaki et al. Age‐related changes of the spinal cord: A biomechanical study. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 2018