Engineering-aided treatment of chest deformities to improve the process of breathing

SUMMARY In this paper, the application of new visualization technologies in correction of funnel chest is presented. Often, such defects cause problems with breathing, and therefore, to improve the cardiorespiratory efficiency, a correction is required. The virtual model of chest was formulated to determine the strains and stresses after correction of deformation with using the stabilizing plate. From biomechanical point of view, the knowledge of the load-affecting stabilizer is necessary to select optimal parameters of the plate. The force-affecting plate that was used in the correction of chest deformation by Nuss method was determined on the basis of finite element model of funnel chest. The main aim of this work was to select the optimal thickness of plate. Calculations were conducted for three alternative constraints. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.