The Effect of Position and Path Repeatability on Biomechanical Testing of Diarthrodial Joints

Author(s):  
Shon P. Darcy ◽  
Jorge E. Gil ◽  
Savio L.-Y. Woo ◽  
Richard E. Debski

To improve surgical procedures and rehabilitation protocols for injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the function of the ACL and ACL graft during in vivo activities must be understood. Robotic manipulators with a payload less than 500 N (low-payload) have been used to study joint and ligament function during application of external loading conditions (Fujie, 1993; Fujie, 2000). Robotic manipulators with a payload capacity of at least 1500 N (high-payload) will be needed to simulate high joint contact forces that have been estimated to be between 2 to 5 times body weight (Morrison, 1970; Escamilla, 1998). However, there is a trade-off between payload capacity and position and path repeatability. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of position and path repeatability of two high-payload robotic manipulators, (KUKA™ KR210 and FANUC™ S900W) used to apply external loads to diarthrodial joints and determine the corresponding joint kinematics and forces in the soft tissue structures.

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Formento Catalfamo ◽  
Gerardo Aguiar ◽  
Jorge Curi ◽  
Ariel Braidot

Previous research has shown that an increase in hamstring activation may compensate for anterior tibial transalation (ATT) in patients with anterior cruciate ligament deficient knee (ACLd); however, the effects of this compensation still remain unclear. The goals of this study were to quantify the activation of the hamstring muscles needed to compensate the ATT in ACLd knee during the complete gait cycle and to evaluate the effect of this compensation on quadriceps activation and joint contact forces. A two dimensional model of the knee was used, which included the tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joints, knee ligaments, the medial capsule and two muscles units. Simulations were conducted to determine the ATT in healthy and ACLd knee and the hamstring activation needed to correct the abnormal ATT to normal levels (100% compensation) and to 50% compensation. Then, the quadriceps activation and the joint contact forces were calculated. Results showed that 100% compensation would require hamstring and quadriceps activations larger than their maximum isometric force, and would generate an increment in the peak contact force at the tibiofemoral (115%) and patellofemoral (48%) joint with respect to the healthy knee. On the other hand, 50% compensation would require less force generated by the muscles (less than 0.85 of maximum isometric force) and smaller contact forces (peak tibiofemoral contact force increased 23% and peak patellofemoral contact force decreased 7.5% with respect to the healthy knee). Total compensation of ATT by means of increased hamstring activity is possible; however, partial compensation represents a less deleterious strategy.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (02) ◽  
pp. 1350043 ◽  
Author(s):  
NATHAN P. BROWN ◽  
GINA E. BERTOCCI ◽  
DENIS J. MARCELLIN-LITTLE

The objective of this study was to develop a three-dimensional (3D) quasi-static rigid body canine pelvic limb computer model simulating a cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) intact and CrCL-deficient stifle during walking stance to describe stifle biomechanics. The model was based on a five-year-old neutered male Golden Retriever (33 kg) with no orthopedic or neurologic disease. Skeletal geometry and ligament anatomy determined from computed tomography (CT), optimized muscle forces, motion capture kinematics, and force platform ground reaction forces were used to develop the model. Ligament loads, tibial translation, tibial rotation, and femoromeniscal contact forces were compared across the intact and CrCL-deficient stifle. The CrCL was found to be the primary intact stifle load-bearing ligament, and the caudal cruciate ligament was the primary CrCL-deficient stifle load-bearing ligament. Normalized tibial translation and rotation were 0.61 mm/kg and 0.14 degrees/kg, respectively. Our model confirmed that the CrCL stabilizes the intact stifle and limits tibial translation and rotation. Model verification was confirmed through agreement with experimentally measured kinematics and previous in vivo, in vitro, and mathematical model studies. Parametric analysis indicated outcome measure sensitivity to ligament pre-strain. Computer modeling could be useful to further investigate stifle biomechanics associated with surgical stabilization techniques.


Author(s):  
Hannah J. Lundberg ◽  
Markus A. Wimmer

Detailed knowledge of in vivo knee contact forces and the contribution from muscles, ligaments, and other soft-tissues to knee joint function are essential for evaluating total knee replacement (TKR) designs. We have recently developed a mathematical model for calculating knee joint contact forces using parametric methodology (Lundberg et al., 2009). The numerical model calculates a “solution space” of three-dimensional contact forces for both the medial and lateral compartments of the tibial plateau. The solution spaces are physiologically meaningful, and represent the result of balancing the external moments and forces by different strategies.


Author(s):  
Hannah J. Lundberg ◽  
Christopher B. Knowlton ◽  
Diego Orozco ◽  
Markus A. Wimmer

Knowledge of in vivo knee contact forces is essential for evaluating total knee replacement (TKR) designs. This is particularly true for activities other than walking, because there is still a limited understanding of its impact on wear. It has been shown that wear scars from retrieved implants have obvious differences compared with simulator tested components in both size of worn area and in damage mode. The divergence could be related to the omission of other activities than walking when testing components in the simulator. The purpose of this study was to use a parametric numerical model for predicting joint contact forces during stair ascent/descent and chair sitting/rising and compare those to measured forces from a database. We hypothesized that the contact force output of the numeric model would be similar to the measured forces.


Author(s):  
Justin W. Fernandez ◽  
Hyung J. Kim ◽  
Massoud Akbarshahi ◽  
Jonathan P. Walter ◽  
Benjamin J. Fregly ◽  
...  

Many studies have used musculoskeletal models to predict in vivo muscle forces at the knee during gait [1, 2]. Unfortunately, quantitative assessment of the model calculations is often impracticable. Various indirect methods have been used to evaluate the accuracy of model predictions, including comparisons against measurements of muscle activity, joint kinematics, ground reaction forces, and joint moments. In a recent study, an instrumented hip implant was used to validate calculations of hip contact forces directly [3]. The same model was subsequently used to validate model calculations of tibiofemoral loading during gait [4]. Instrumented knee implants have also been used in in vitro and in vivo studies to quantify differences in biomechanical performance between various TKR designs [5, 6]. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate model predictions of knee muscle forces by direct comparison with measurements obtained from an instrumented knee implant. Calculations of muscle and joint-contact loading were performed for level walking at slow, normal, and fast speeds.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Swithin Samuel Razu

"The goal of this dissertation is to develop a musculoskeletal model and corroborate model predictions to experimentally measured in vivo knee contact forces, in order to study the biomechanical consequences of two different total knee arthroplasty designs. The two main contributions of this dissertation are: (1) Corroboration to experimental data: The development of an EMG-driven, full-body, musculoskeletal model with subject-specific leg geometries including deformable contacts, ligaments, 6DOF knee joint, and a shoe-floor model that can concurrently predict muscle forces, ligament forces, and joint contact forces. Model predictions of tibiofemoral joint contact forces were evaluated against the subject-specific in vivo measurements from the instrumented TKR for three distinctly different styles of over ground gait. (2) Virtual surgery in TKA: The musculoskeletal modeling methodology was then used to develop a model for one healthy participant with a native knee and then virtually replacing the native knee with fixed-bearing and mobile-bearing total knee arthroplasty designs performing gait and step-up tasks. This approach minimized the biomechanical impact of variations in sex, geometry, implant size, design and positioning, ligament location and tension, and muscle forces found across patients. The differences in biomechanics were compared for the two designs. 1.2 Significance of this Research The world health organization ranks musculoskeletal disorders as the second largest contributor to disability worldwide. Conservative estimates put the national cost of direct care for musculoskeletal disease at $212.7 billion a year [1]. Many people who suffer from neuromuscular or musculoskeletal diseases may benefit from the insights gained from surgery simulations, since musculoskeletal reconstructions are commonly performed on these individuals. Improved surgical outcomes will benefit these individuals not only in the short-term, but also in the long-term, since their future rehabilitation needs may be reduced. For example, although total knee arthroplasty is a common surgical procedure for the treatment of osteoarthritis with over 700,000 procedures performed each year [2], many patients are unhappy with the ultimate results [3]. Ten to 30% of patients report [4] pain, dissatisfaction with function, and the need for further surgery such as revision after the initial surgery resulting in costs exceeding $11 billion [5]. Potentially, simulation studies that quantify the important biomechanical variables will reduce the need for revision surgeries in patients."--Introduction.


2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Florent Moissenet ◽  
Laurence Chèze ◽  
Raphaël Dumas

While recent literature has clearly demonstrated that an extensive personalization of the musculoskeletal models was necessary to reach high accuracy, several components of the generic models may be further investigated before defining subject-specific parameters. Among others, the choice in muscular geometry and thus the level of muscular redundancy in the model may have a noticeable influence on the predicted musculotendon and joint contact forces. In this context, the aim of this study was to investigate if the level of muscular redundancy can contribute or not to reduce inaccuracies in tibiofemoral contact forces predictions. For that, the dataset disseminated through the Sixth Grand Challenge Competition to Predict In Vivo Knee Loads was applied to a versatile 3D lower limb musculoskeletal model in which two muscular geometries (i.e., two different levels of muscular redundancy) were implemented. This dataset provides tibiofemoral implant measurements for both medial and lateral compartments and thus allows evaluation of the validity of the model predictions. The results suggest that an increase of the level of muscular redundancy corresponds to a better accuracy of total tibiofemoral contact force whatever the gait pattern investigated. However, the medial and lateral contact forces ratio and accuracy were not necessarily improved when increasing the level of muscular redundancy and may thus be attributed to other parameters such as the location of contact points. To conclude, the muscular geometry, among other components of the generic model, has a noticeable impact on joint contact forces predictions and may thus be correctly chosen even before trying to personalize the model.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Manal ◽  
Thomas S. Buchanan

Computational models that predict internal joint forces have the potential to enhance our understanding of normal and pathological movement. Validation studies of modeling results are necessary if such models are to be adopted by clinicians to complement patient treatment and rehabilitation. The purposes of this paper are: (1) to describe an electromyogram (EMG)-driven modeling approach to predict knee joint contact forces, and (2) to evaluate the accuracy of model predictions for two distinctly different gait patterns (normal walking and medial thrust gait) against known values for a patient with a force recording knee prosthesis. Blinded model predictions and revised model estimates for knee joint contact forces are reported for our entry in the 2012 Grand Challenge to predict in vivo knee loads. The EMG-driven model correctly predicted that medial compartment contact force for the medial thrust gait increased despite the decrease in knee adduction moment. Model accuracy was high: the difference in peak loading was less than 0.01 bodyweight (BW) with an R2 = 0.92. The model also predicted lateral loading for the normal walking trial with good accuracy exhibiting a peak loading difference of 0.04 BW and an R2 = 0.44. Overall, the EMG-driven model captured the general shape and timing of the contact force profiles and with accurate input data the model estimated joint contact forces with sufficient accuracy to enhance the interpretation of joint loading beyond what is possible from data obtained from standard motion capture studies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco A. Marra ◽  
Valentine Vanheule ◽  
René Fluit ◽  
Bart H. F. J. M. Koopman ◽  
John Rasmussen ◽  
...  

Musculoskeletal (MS) models should be able to integrate patient-specific MS architecture and undergo thorough validation prior to their introduction into clinical practice. We present a methodology to develop subject-specific models able to simultaneously predict muscle, ligament, and knee joint contact forces along with secondary knee kinematics. The MS architecture of a generic cadaver-based model was scaled using an advanced morphing technique to the subject-specific morphology of a patient implanted with an instrumented total knee arthroplasty (TKA) available in the fifth “grand challenge competition to predict in vivo knee loads” dataset. We implemented two separate knee models, one employing traditional hinge constraints, which was solved using an inverse dynamics technique, and another one using an 11-degree-of-freedom (DOF) representation of the tibiofemoral (TF) and patellofemoral (PF) joints, which was solved using a combined inverse dynamic and quasi-static analysis, called force-dependent kinematics (FDK). TF joint forces for one gait and one right-turn trial and secondary knee kinematics for one unloaded leg-swing trial were predicted and evaluated using experimental data available in the grand challenge dataset. Total compressive TF contact forces were predicted by both hinge and FDK knee models with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) and a coefficient of determination (R2) smaller than 0.3 body weight (BW) and equal to 0.9 in the gait trial simulation and smaller than 0.4 BW and larger than 0.8 in the right-turn trial simulation, respectively. Total, medial, and lateral TF joint contact force predictions were highly similar, regardless of the type of knee model used. Medial (respectively lateral) TF forces were over- (respectively, under-) predicted with a magnitude error of M < 0.2 (respectively > −0.4) in the gait trial, and under- (respectively, over-) predicted with a magnitude error of M > −0.4 (respectively < 0.3) in the right-turn trial. Secondary knee kinematics from the unloaded leg-swing trial were overall better approximated using the FDK model (average Sprague and Geers' combined error C = 0.06) than when using a hinged knee model (C = 0.34). The proposed modeling approach allows detailed subject-specific scaling and personalization and does not contain any nonphysiological parameters. This modeling framework has potential applications in aiding the clinical decision-making in orthopedics procedures and as a tool for virtual implant design.


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