Patent ID: 8744826

Claim:
A method of simulating the behavior of an articulated set of vertebrae of a spine, with limited computational capacity and time, comprising: a construction step of constructing a three-dimensional geometrical model, in a computer, of the set from data that is specific to the subject in a reference position; and a mechanical customization step of customizing the geometrical model comprising: a stage of determining critical connection areas in the vertebrae set, by determining for every connection area the rotation and/or inclination of the adjacent vertebrae which are connected by this connection area; concluding that every connection for which said rotation and/or inclination is singular are critical connection areas based on predetermined specific criteria; concluding that every connection area for which said rotation and/or inclination is normal are not critical connection areas; a data acquisition stage of acquiring data concerning the articulated vertebrae set of the subject during at least one clinical test of posture in a position different from the reference position or a clinical test of movement starting from said reference position; and a stage of determination for the mechanical parameters of said critical connection areas in order to cause the model to reproduce the shape acquired by the above-mentioned set of vertebrae during the clinical test.