Reliability-based Design Optimization of a Cemented Femoral Prosthesis and Considering the Bone Remodeling

: In this study, we present a numerical methodology to minimize the bone mass loss in a femur with a total hip arthroplasty procedure considering uncertainties in the material parameters by a RBDO (Reliability-Based Design Optimization) procedure. A genetic algorithm (GA) was applied as the optimization method and a three-dimensional finite element model associated with a bone remodeling procedure was developed to describe the femoral bone behavior (internal and external). An example of a femoral prosthesis is presented for the discussion of the methodologies employed, and the corresponding reliability level is evaluated. Constraints on the strength of all materials are inputs to the optimization model. The proposed methodology is compared with a deterministic optimization (DO) and the results show that it is important to consider the uncertainties in this kind of problem since the reliability index found a posteriori is considerably lower.