» Articles » PMID: 25970655

Investigating the Mechanical Function of the Cervix During Pregnancy Using Finite Element Models Derived from High-resolution 3D MRI

Overview
Publisher Informa Healthcare
Date 2015 May 14
PMID 25970655
Citations 45
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Preterm birth is a strong contributor to perinatal mortality, and preterm infants that survive are at risk for long-term morbidities. During most of pregnancy, appropriate mechanical function of the cervix is required to maintain the developing fetus in utero. Premature cervical softening and subsequent cervical shortening are hypothesized to cause preterm birth. Presently, there is a lack of understanding of the structural and material factors that influence the mechanical function of the cervix during pregnancy. In this study we build finite element models of the pregnant uterus, cervix, and fetal membrane based on magnetic resonance imagining data in order to examine the mechanical function of the cervix under the physiologic loading conditions of pregnancy. We calculate the mechanical loading state of the cervix for two pregnant patients: 22 weeks gestational age with a normal cervical length and 28 weeks with a short cervix. We investigate the influence of (1) anatomical geometry, (2) cervical material properties, and (3) fetal membrane material properties, including its adhesion properties, on the mechanical loading state of the cervix under physiologically relevant intrauterine pressures. Our study demonstrates that membrane-uterus interaction, cervical material modeling, and membrane mechanical properties are factors that must be deliberately and carefully handled in order to construct a high quality mechanical simulation of pregnancy.

Citing Articles

Quantitative Assessment of Collagen Remodeling during a Murine Pregnancy.

Ramella-Roman J, Mahendroo M, Raoux C, Latour G, Schanne-Klein M ACS Photonics. 2024; 11(9):3536-3544.

PMID: 39310300 PMC: 11413848. DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.4c00337.


Elasticity of the Cervix in Relation to Uterus Position.

Xholli A, Londero A, Scovazzi U, Cagnacci A J Clin Med. 2024; 13(9).

PMID: 38731100 PMC: 11084649. DOI: 10.3390/jcm13092572.


Equilibrium Mechanical Properties of the Nonhuman Primate Cervix.

Fang S, Shi L, Vink J, Feltovich H, Hall T, Myers K J Biomech Eng. 2024; 146(8).

PMID: 38270929 PMC: 10983698. DOI: 10.1115/1.4064558.


Bioengineering and the cervix: The past, current, and future for addressing preterm birth.

Yoshida K Curr Res Physiol. 2023; 6:100107.

PMID: 38107784 PMC: 10724223. DOI: 10.1016/j.crphys.2023.100107.


A finite porous-viscoelastic model capturing mechanical behavior of human cervix under multi-step spherical indentation.

Shi L, Myers K J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2023; 143:105875.

PMID: 37187153 PMC: 10330483. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2023.105875.


References
1.
House M, McCabe R, Socrate S . Using imaging-based, three-dimensional models of the cervix and uterus for studies of cervical changes during pregnancy. Clin Anat. 2012; 26(1):97-104. DOI: 10.1002/ca.22183. View

2.
Gan Y, Yao W, Myers K, Vink J, Wapner R, Hendon C . Analyzing three-dimensional ultrastructure of human cervical tissue using optical coherence tomography. Biomed Opt Express. 2015; 6(4):1090-108. PMC: 4399652. DOI: 10.1364/BOE.6.001090. View

3.
Lanir Y . Constitutive equations for fibrous connective tissues. J Biomech. 1983; 16(1):1-12. DOI: 10.1016/0021-9290(83)90041-6. View

4.
Gan Y, Yao W, Myers K, Hendon C . An automated 3D registration method for optical coherence tomography volumes. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2015; 2014:3873-6. PMC: 6080205. DOI: 10.1109/EMBC.2014.6944469. View

5.
Maas S, Ellis B, Ateshian G, Weiss J . FEBio: finite elements for biomechanics. J Biomech Eng. 2012; 134(1):011005. PMC: 3705975. DOI: 10.1115/1.4005694. View