A Finite Element Analysis of Wire Diameter, Material, and Applied Force Interaction in K-Wire Fixation Stresses

Background: K-wire fixation is popular procedure for digital replantation. Though successful, complications can occur, which may be attributed to improper mechanical interactions. Methods: Simplified models of a bone-wire systems simulated stress based on varying applied forces (100N or 200N), materials (Nitinol or Poly Lactic Acid (PLA)) and wire diameters (1.25mm or 2.4mm). Material properties were assumed to be isotropic and homogeneous. Statistical tests were used to investigate the interaction and main effects of these factors and whether they are significant in this study, with α=0.05. Results: Von Mises stresses observed from the various treatments were shown to have no interaction with each other, having to reject the alternative hypothesis with all interactions resulting in P values greater than 0.05. However, the only factor significantly impacting Von Mises stress was the diameter of the wire. Conclusions: Little to no interactions were seen between design parameters studied here.