Patent ID: 7099734

Claim:
A method of evaluating a product for use on a body, the method comprising the steps of: creating a computer based body sub-model of at least a portion of the body on which the product is positioned, said body sub-model having finite elements; creating a computer based product sub-model of the product, said product sub-model having finite elements; creating an interaction model comprising instructions defining how the body sub-model and the product sub-model interact; combining the body sub-model, the product sub-model and the interaction model in a use model using numerical method analysis to define a mechanical response of the finite elements of the body sub-model and the product sub-model; simulating via the use model interaction between the body sub-model and the product sub-model to produce a representation of at least one product feature of the product; and evaluating the use model to determine the performance of the at least one feature of the product and/or body.