Development and testing of patient-specific knee replacements

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2012:2012:4875-8. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2012.6347086.

Abstract

This study presents a design methodology for designing and manufacturing patient-specific unicompartmental knee replacements. The design methodology uses mathematical modeling and an artificial neural network to predict the original and healthy articulating surfaces of a patient's knee. The models are combined with medical images from the patient to create a knee prosthesis that is patient-specific. These patient-specific implants are then compared to conventional implants with respect to contact stresses and kinematics. The patient-specific implant experienced lower contact stresses at the tibiofemoral joint compared to a fixed-bearing design. Both the UKRs showed similar kinematic patterns to the normal knee using two different test rigs. The patient-specific UKR showed good results and with the other benefits it shows potential to dramatically improve clinical outcomes of knee replacement surgery.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / instrumentation*
  • Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / methods*
  • Computer-Aided Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Humans
  • Knee Joint / physiopathology*
  • Knee Joint / surgery*
  • Knee Prosthesis*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prosthesis Design
  • Range of Motion, Articular*
  • Treatment Outcome