| Summary: | —Degenerative disc disease is a spinal disorder in
which the vertebral disc helps protect nerves and increase
spine flexibility that begins to deteriorate. The
syndromehappens in the lumbar spine, which is crucial in
supporting the weight of the human body. The lumbar
vertebrae are naturally larger to absorb the stress of carrying
heavy objects. Many surgical treatments are available for this
disorder, and the most common treatment is Posterior
Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF) surgery. However, a lot
ofquestionable clinical effects related to this procedure, such
as cage sinking into vertebral endplates, cage failure and cage
relocation. This paper reviews the technical aspects of
developing PLIF implants based on clinical, in-vitro, animal,
prospective, and retrospective studies.The finite element
analysis (FEA) approach has shown the most promising
technique by offering virtual biomechanical assessments, low
risk of implant failure and bone fractures, and satisfying
patient-specific requirements. Many types of FEA software
are available in the market, such as Ansys, ABACUS, and
Mechanical Finder software. The ability of the software to
develop heterogeneous bone models will give an extra
advantage in improving the FEA accuracy in terms of stress
and distributions and fracture risk assessment. The research
approach, biomechanical assessment and data interpretation
related to the development of the previous and existing studies
will give an insightinto the research strategies and their
restrictions. The FEA investigation can be utilized to optimize
the mechanical characteristics of PLIF with various infill
pattern designs and densities. Moreover, the further research
analysis is still needed to improve interbody cage
development.
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