The knowledge of the in-vivo loading on the spinal disk is of paramount importance in the understanding of low back pain. In this study an artificial spinal disk is used as a base for making an in-body intelligent implantable load-cell which can measure the in-vivo loading on the spinal disk. A commercially available spinal disc was utilized and was loaded with eight strain gauges and two piezoresistive sensors placed at different locations on the disc in order to enable the complete local mapping on the disk. With the aid of a cadaveric animal spine the artificial disc with all sensor was loaded in a laboratory environment. The in-vitro loading produced reliable and repeatable results and therefore suggesting that such approach might aid in the development of an artificial intelligent disc which will aid in the better understanding of the in-vivo loading of the human spine.
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