Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Finite element analysis is becoming a kind of strong tool in pathologies, treatment and manufacture of orthopedic brace in the research area of foot diseases because of its unique advantage in biomechanical research in recent years.
OBJECTIVE: To review the applied situation of finite element modeling method in foot, consisting of scientific methods of data acquisition, reliable material characteristics and parameter definition, modeling method and the software of finite element.
METHODS: To search the articles from January 1980 to May 2009 by computer in CNKI database, PubMed database, Wanfang database and Vip database. The index words were “finite element method, foot, finite element model”. The articles included the studies on methods of data acquisition, on material characteristics and parameter definition and on modeling method. The articles which to repeat the similar method, not to introduce the relative parameters in detail were deleted.                                   
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: It was the most popular method in current years to acquire the data of study object from CT and MR images. It will be the developing tendency of medical finite element modeling method to establish program interface between 3-D rebuilt technique of CT and finite element which finite element software can directly read 3-D model of CT. The material characteristics and parameter of foot finite element model mostly referred to the foreign data. The studies of material parameter test were not reported. In the field of material characteristics, the finite element model of foot with nonlinearity and tissue anisotropy will be the main stream.