Heat transfer in Interverterbral Discs (IVDs)

The Nucleus Pulposus (NP) is an avascular tissue that may be subject to temperature increase. Indeed, since the NP is not perfused by the cardio-vascular system, it implies that heat cannot be convected from it. The sources of heat could be either external due to the musculature that surrounded the spine, or internal due to viscous dissipations. The overall goal of the project is to characterize heat transfer in the intervertebral disc (IVD). For that purpose, the student will asked to develop a system that will dissipate heat specifically in the center of an IVD and that can also monitor the evolution of temperature, with controlled boundary conditions. The data will then be used to determine the mechanical stimulus required to have an increase of temperature due to viscous dissipation. This latter prediction will be validated experimentally.