Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-di-pietro/
Ciclo: XXXVIII
Curriculum: Mechanics
Title of the PhD Project: Enhancing Musculoskeletal Modelling: From Methodological Advances to Joint Prosthesis Wear Simulation
Supervisor(s): Prof.ssa Francesca Di Puccio, Prof.ssa Lorenza Mattei
In collaboration with: “Rehab&Sport “ Biomechanics Lab
Abstract of the PhD project: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is increasingly performed in younger and more active patients, exposing prosthetic components to a wide range of loading conditions that extend far beyond standard gait. In this context, polyethylene wear at the head–liner interface remains a major cause of long-term failure, revision surgery and reduced implant longevity. Experimental wear testing and instrumented implants provide valuable information, but are costly, invasive and limited to a small number of standardised loading scenarios, which may not fully represent subject-specific movement patterns and lifestyles. Musculoskeletal (MSK) modelling offers a non-invasive way to estimate internal joint loads from motion data, and numerical wear models allow the prediction of long-term damage at the articulating surfaces. However, in current practice these elements are often used in isolation: MSK simulations depend on user-dependent scaling procedures and on force plate data that are not always available, while wear analyses are typically carried out in separate finite element environments with simplified boundary conditions. This fragmentation hampers reproducibility, complicates the integration of realistic activities of daily living and makes it difficult to investigate how individual movement strategies affect prosthesis wear. The main motivation of this thesis is to overcome these limitations by enhancing the methodological foundations of MSK modelling and by bringing joint prosthesis wear analysis closer to subject-specific movement biomechanics, within an open-source and accessible computational framework.
Teaching experience:
- Teaching support activities (bando “Fondo Giovani 2023/24)” for the teaching “Meccanica applicata al sistema muscoloscheletrico” through frontal classroom exercises ( 20 hours)
- Teaching support activities (bando “Fondo Giovani 2022/23)” for the teaching “Meccanica applicata al sistema muscoloscheletrico” through frontal classroom exercises ( 8 hours)
Publications
Orcid ID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2668-899X
Articles
- “OpenGRF: Predicting Ground Reaction Forces and Moments During Daily Living Activities in OpenSim” BiorXiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.27.678739
Andrea Di Pietro, Francesca Di Puccio, Luca Modenese
- “How patient-specific daily activities influence wear of hip implants: an in-silico study”,
https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.26098
Lorenza Mattei, Andrea Di Pietro, Francesca Di Puccio
- “Biomechanical analysis of the burpee push-up using predicted ground reaction forces”, https://commons.nmu.edu/isbs/vol42/iss1/261,
Andrea Di Pietro, Francesca Di Puccio
- “Pin-on-plate vs. Pin-on-disk wear tests: theoretical and numerical
observations on the initial transient phase” (org/10.3390/lubricants12040134)
Francesca Di Puccio, Andrea Di Pietro, Lorenza Mattei - “AST: an OpenSim-based tool for the automatic scaling of generic musculoskeletal models” (org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108524)
Andrea Di Pietro, Alex Bersani, Cristina Curreli, Francesca Di Puccio
- “Biomechanical Analysis of Cuban Motion” (https://doi.org/10.1007/s42978-024-00312-w)
Antonia Centrone, Rosanna M. Viglialoro, Andrea Di Pietro, Lorenza Mattei, Francesca Di Puccio
- “Are Suprapectineal Quadrilateral Surface Buttressing Plates Performances Superior to Traditional Fixation? A Finite Element Analysis” (org/10.3390/app11020858)
Mara Terzini, Andrea Di Pietro, Alessandro Aprato, Stefano Artiaco, Alessandro Massè, Cristina Bignardi
Conferences
- International Society of Biomechanics (ISB), Stockholm (SWE) 2025
“Dependency Of Hip Joint Reaction Forces On Hip Joint Centre Location During Walking”, Andrea Di Pietro, L. Mattei, F. Di Puccio, L. Modenese
- Technical Group on Computer Simulations of ISB, Uppsala (SWE) 2025
“OpenGRF: Predicting Ground Reaction Forces in OpenSim”,
Andrea Di Pietro, F. Di Puccio, L. Modenese
- International Society of Biomechanics in Sports, Salzburg (AT), July 15-19 2024
“Biomechanical analysis of the burpee push-up using predicted ground reaction forces” (Accepted Abstract)
Andrea Di Pietro, Francesca Di Puccio
- European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 24), Edinburgh (UK), 30 June – 3 July 2024
“Prediction of ground reaction forces using Computed Muscle Control in OpenSim” (Accepted Abstract)
Andrea Di Pietro, Francesca Di Puccio
- Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering (CMBBE 23), Paris (FR), May 3-5 2023
“Daily activities kinematics and kinetics in subjects with external fixator: preliminary tests”
- Viglialoro, Andrea Di Pietro, L. Mattei, E. Rosellini, S. Marchetti, M. Gesi, F. Di Puccio
- European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 23), Maastricht (NL), July 7-12 2023
“A Matlab tool to scale iteratively and automatically generic musculoskeletal models”
Andrea Di Pietro, Francesca Di Puccio
- “Pisa incontra lo sport”, Aula Magna Pacinotti (Pisa, IT), May 25 2023
“Simulazione del movimento: stimare quello che non si riesce a misurare”
Andrea Di Pietro