Virtual Interactive Musculoskeletal System (VIMS) in orthopaedic translational research

The ability to combine physiology and engineering analyses with computer sciences has opened the door to the possibility of creating the "Virtual Human." This paper presents a broad foundation for a full-featured biomechanical simulator for the human musculoskeletal system. This simulation technology unites the expertise in engineering sciences and graphic modelling to investigate joint and connective tissue mechanics at the structural level and to visualize the results in both static and animated dynamic forms. Adaptable anatomical models including prosthetic implants and fracture fixation devices and a robust computational infrastructure for static, kinematic, kinetic, and stress analyses under varying boundary and loading conditions are incorporated on a platform, the Virtual Interactive Musculoskeletal System (VIMS), ideal for a cloud computing environment. A deployable database containing long bone dimensions, connective tissue material properties, and a library of skeletal joint system functional activities and loading conditions are also available that can be modified, updated, and expanded. An application software is available that allows end users to perform biomechanical analyses interactively. An example using the forearm and hand bone models plus a unilateral external fixator to study the distal radius fracture reduction in a virtual laboratory environment is highlighted to demonstrate this unique simulation technology in the field of orthopaedics.