There is a direct correlation between ligament function and the articulating surface of the normal knee, and changes to any of these structures can affect the other. This is also true for knee replacements, where the articulating surface is greatly changed compared to the natural knee. This study investigated the morphometry of healthy knees and proposes a method to predict original normal knee profiles. A variety of mathematical techniques are compared in terms of the accuracy with which they can represent the original knee joint geometry. Additionally, a method of predicting the irregular femoral condyle geometry for an individual knee is described by making use of the mathematical techniques presented, and the accuracy of this method is also investigated. The mathematical approach using B-splines provides flexibility and can accurately describe the complex geometry of the femoral condyles in both the sagittal and transverse planes. It was further found that the condyles are highly asymmetrical; therefore simpler methods cannot portray the condyles sufficiently and are especially inaccurate in representing the lateral condyle. The study proposes a method for predicting the geometry of the femoral condyles with good accuracy. The B-spline model showed best results.

References

1.
Daniel
,
D. M.
,
Dobson
,
B. E.
,
Fithian
,
D. C.
,
Rossman
,
D. J.
, and
Kaufman
,
K. R.
, 1994, “
Fate of the ACL-Injured Patient. A Prospective Outcome Study
,”
American Journal of Sports Medicine
,
22
, pp.
632
644
.
2.
Jomha
,
N. M.
,
Borton
,
D. C.
,
Clingeleffer
,
A. J.
, and
Pinczewski
,
L. A.
, 1999, “
Long-Term Osteoarthritic Changes in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstructed Knees
,”
Clinical Orthopaedic
,
358
, pp.
188
193
.
3.
Fishkin
,
Z.
,
Miller
,
D.
,
Ritter
,
C.
, and
Ziv
,
I.
, 2002, “
Changes in Human Knee Ligament Stiffness Secondary to Osteoarthritis
,”
Journal of Orthopaedic Research
,
20
, pp.
204
207
.
4.
Brage
,
M. E.
,
Draganich
,
L. F.
,
Pottenger
,
L. A.
, and
Curran
,
J. J.
, 1994, “
Knee Laxity in Symptomatic Osteoarthritis
,”
Clinical Orthopaedic and Related Research
,
304
, pp.
184
189
.
5.
Wada
,
M.
,
Imura
,
S.
,
Baba
,
H.
, and
Shimada
,
S.
, 1996, “
Knee Laxity in Patients With Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
,”
British Journal of Rheumatology
,
35
, pp.
560
563
.
6.
Matsuda
,
S.
,
Miura
,
H.
,
Nagamine
,
R.
,
Urabe
,
K.
,
Matsunobu
,
T.
, and
Iwamoto
,
Y.
, 1999, “
Knee Stability in Posterior Cruciate Ligament Retaining Total Knee Arthroplasty
,”
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
,
366
, pp.
169
173
.
7.
Emodi
,
G. J.
,
Callaghan
,
J. J.
,
Pedersen
,
D. R.
, and
Brown
,
T. D.
, 1999, “
Posterior Cruciate Ligament Function Following Total Knee Arthroplasty: The Effect of Joint Line Elevation
,”
The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal
,
19
, pp.
82
92
.
8.
Singerman
,
R.
,
Dean
,
J. C.
,
Pagan
,
H. D.
, and
Goldberg
,
V. M.
, 1996, “
Decreased Posterior Tibial Slope Increases Strain in the Posterior Cruciate Ligament Following Total Knee Arthroplasty
,”
The Journal of Arthroplasty
,
11
, pp.
99
103
.
9.
Siebel
,
T.
, and
Kafer
,
W.
, 2004, “
Modification of the Posterior Cruciate Ligament Tension Following Total Knee Arthroplasty: Comparison of the Genesis CR and LCS Meniscal Bearing Prostheses
,”
The Knee
,
11
, pp.
203
208
.
10.
Morgan
,
M.
,
Brooks
,
S.
, and
Nelson
,
R. A.
, 2006, “
Total Knee Arthroplasty in Young Active Patients Using a Highly Congruent Fully Mobile Prosthesis
,”
The Journal of Arthroplasty
,
22
, pp.
525
530
.
11.
Hernigou
,
P.
,
Nogier
,
A.
,
Manicom
,
O.
,
Poignard
,
A.
,
De Abreu
,
L.
, and
Filippini
,
P.
, 2004, “
Alternative Femoral Bearing Surface Options for Knee Replacement in Younger Patients
,”
The Knee
,
11
, pp.
169
172
.
12.
Murphy
,
T. P.
,
Brubaker
,
S. M.
,
Mihalko
,
W. M.
,
Saleh
,
K. J.
, and
Mulhal
,
K. J.
, 2007, “
Review of Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty in Younger Patients
,”
Seminars in Arthroplasty
,
18
, pp.
162
167
.
13.
Biščević
,
M.
,
Hebibović
,
M.
, and
Smrke
,
D.
, 2005, “
Variations of Femoral Condyle Shape
,”
Collegium Antropologicum
,
2
, pp.
409
414
.
14.
Freeman
,
M. A. R.
, and
Pinskernova
,
V.
, 2005, “
The Movement of the Normal Tibio-femoral Joint
,”
Journal of Biomechanics
,
38
, pp.
197
208
.
15.
Elias
,
S. G.
,
Freeman
,
M. A.
, and
Gokcay
,
E. I.
, 1990, “
A Correlative Study of the Geometry and Anatomy of the Distal Femur
,”
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
,
260
, pp.
98
103
.
16.
Hollister
,
A. M.
Jatana
,
S.
,
Singh
,
A. K.
,
Sullivan
,
W. W.
, and
Lupichak
,
H.
, 1993, “
The Axes of Rotation of the Knee
,”
Clinical Orthopaedics
,
290
, pp.
259
268
.
17.
Nuño
,
N.
, and
Ahmed
,
A. M.
, 2003, “
Three-Dimensional Morphometry of the Femoral Condyles
,”
Clinical Biomechanics
,
18
, pp.
924
932
.
18.
Ateshian
,
G. A.
, 1993, “
A B-Spline Least-Squares Surface-Fitting Method for Articular Surfaces of Diarthtodial Joints
,”
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
,
115
, pp.
366
373
.
19.
Boyd
,
S. K.
,
Ronsky
,
J. L.
,
Lichti
,
D. D.
,
Salkauskas
,
K.
, and
Chapman
,
M. A.
, 1999, “
Joint surface modeling with thin-plate splines
,”
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
,
121
, pp.
525
532
.
20.
Wismans
,
J.
,
Veldpaus
,
F.
, and
Janssen
,
J.
, 1980, “
A Three-Dimensional Mathematical Model of the Knee-Joint
,”
Journal of Biomechanics
,
13
, pp.
677
686
.
21.
Hirokawa
,
S.
,
Ueki
,
T.
, and
Ohtsuki
,
A.
, 2004, “
A New Approach for Surface Fitting Method of Articular Joint Surface
,”
Journal of Biomechanics
,
37
, pp.
1551
1559
.
22.
Kosel
,
J.
,
Giouroudi
,
I.
,
Scheffer
,
C.
,
Dillon
,
E.
, and
Erasmus
,
P.
, 2010, “
Anatomical Study of the Radius and Center of Curvature of the Distal Femoral Condyle
,”
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
,
132
, pp.
91
,002–91,
007
.
23.
Conley
,
S.
,
Rosenberg
,
A.
, and
Crowninshield
,
R.
, 2007, “
The Female Knee: Anatomic Variations
,”
Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
,
15
, pp.
31
36
.
24.
Chaichankul
,
C.
,
Tanavalee
,
A.
, and
Itiravivong
,
P.
, 2011, “
Anthropometric Measurments of Knee Joints in Thai Population: Correlation to the Sizing of Current Knee Prostheses
,”
The Knee
,
18
, pp.
5
10
.
25.
Fehring
,
T. K.
,
Odum
,
S. M.
,
Hughes
,
J.
,
Springer
,
B. D.
, and
Beaver
,
W.B.
, 2009, “
Differences Between the Sexes in the Anatomy of the Anterior Condyle of the Knee
,”
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
,
91
, pp.
2335
2341
.
26.
Merchant
,
A. C.
,
Arendt
,
E. A.
, and
Dye
,
S. F.
, 2008, “
The Female Knee: Anatomical Variations and the Female-Specific Total Knee Design
,”
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
,
466
, pp.
3059
3065
.
27.
van Schalkwyk
,
E.
, 2010, “
Determining Femoral Component Goodness-of-Fit Using Computer Segmentation and Numerical Simulation
,” MScEng Thesis, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Stellenbosch.
28.
Grood
,
E. S.
, and
Suntay
,
W. J.
, 1983, “
A Joint Coordinate System for the Clinical Description of Three-Dimensional Motions: Application to the Knee
,”
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
,
105
, pp.
136
144
.
29.
Brooks
,
P.
, 2008, “
Seven Cuts to a Perfect Knee
,” Current Concepts in Joint Replacement, Winter Meeting, December 10–13, Orlando, Florida.
30.
Kurosawa
,
H.
,
Walker
,
S.
,
Abe
,
S.
,
Garg
,
A.
, and
Hunter
,
T.
, 1985, “
Geometry and Motion of the Knee for Implant and Orthotic Design
,”
Journal of Biomechanics
,
18
, pp.
487
499
.
31.
Piegl
,
L.
, and
Tiller
,
W.
, 1997,
The NURBS Book
,
Springer
,
Berlin
.
32.
Kohonen
,
T.
, 1998, “
The Self-Organizing Map
,”
Neurocomputing
,
21
, pp.
1
6
.
33.
Mensch
,
J. S.
, and
Amstutz
,
H.C.
, 1975, “
Knee Morphology as a Guide to Knee Replacement
,”
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
,
112
, pp.
231
241
.
34.
Röstlund
,
T.
,
Carlsson
,
L.
,
Albrektsson
,
B.
, and
Albrektsson
,
T.
, 1989, “
Morphometrical Studies of Human Femoral Condyles
,”
Journal of Biomedical Engineering
,
11
, pp.
442
448
.
35.
Iwaki
,
H.
,
Pinskernova
,
V.
, and
Freeman
,
M. A. R.
, 2000, “
Tibiofemoral Movement 1: The Shapes and Relative Movements of the Femur and Tibia in the Unloaded Cadaver Knee
,”
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
,
82
, pp.
1189
1195
.
36.
Nuño
,
N.
, and
Ahmed
,
A. M.
, 2001, “
Sagittal Profile of the Femoral Condyles and Its Application to Femorotibial Contact Analysis
,”
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
,
123
, pp.
18
26
.
37.
van den Heever
,
D.
,
Scheffer
,
C.
,
Erasmus
,
P.
, and
Dillon
,
E.
, 2011, “
Method for Selection of Femoral Component in Total Knee Arthroplasty (tka)
,”
Australasian Physical & Engineering Science in Medicine
,
34
, pp.
23
30
.
You do not currently have access to this content.