Harrah Newman

PhD Student
Biomedical Engineering
STAR HSC 109J
harrah@udel.edu

Education
BS, Biomedical Engineering 2018
University of Rochester

Evaluating In vivo Intervertebral Disc Mechanics using MRI and Finite Element Modeling 

My research focuses on quantifying the intervertebral discs’ mechanical function in vivo. I use MRI to evaluate the discs at different conditions in both a porcine model and in a human study to establish the initial conditions of mechanical tests and finite element models.

Porcine disc MRI with segmentation (left); Human disc finite element model (right)

Journal Publications

I. Fleps, H. R. Newman, D. M. Elliott, and E. F. Morgan, “Geometric determinants of the mechanical behavior of image-based finite element models of the intervertebral disc,” J. Orthop. Res., no. April 2023, 2024, doi: 10.1002/jor.25788.
K. D. Meadows, J. M. Peloquin, H. R. Newman, P. J. K. Cauchy, E. J. Vresilovic, and D. M. Elliott, “MRI-based measurement of in vivo disc mechanics in a young population due to flexion, extension, and diurnal loading,” JOR Spine, no. September 2022, pp. 1–14, 2023, doi: 10.1002/jsp2.1243.
H. R. Newman, J. Peloquin, E. Vresilovic, and D. M. Elliott, “Implementation of a Data-Driven Finite Element Model of Intervertebral Disc with Multigenerational Fibers to Establish Pre-Strain,” 2020.
H. R. Newman, R. D. Bowles, and M. R. Buckley, “Viscoelastic heating of insulated bovine intervertebral disc,” Jor Spine, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2018, doi: 10.1002/jsp2.1002.