title: Can Patellar Tendon Angle reveal sagittal kinematics in total knee arthroplasty?
abstract: The Patellar Tendon Angle is strongly correlated with both patello-femoral and tibio-femoral joint kinematics. Thus, the Patellar Tendon Angle might be regarded as a concise indicator of the antero-posterior translation of the femur with respect to the tibia. Twelve subjects, who had undergone total knee arthroplasty, were investigated by video-fluoroscopy during step-up/down. The kinematics at the replaced knee was reconstructed by means of 3D fluoroscopy. The Patellar Tendon Angle and the knee-flexion angle were measured on sagittal fluoroscopic images with software designed for the purpose. The slope of the linear trend of the Patellar Tendon Angle versus knee-flexion angle relationship correlated significantly with the mean (p = 0.001), most anterior (p = 0.001), and most posterior (p = 0.016) position reached by the femur over the tibia. The Patellar Tendon Angle versus knee-flexion angle relationship provides relevant information about the anterior or posterior positioning of the femur over the tibia, but it cannot be interpreted as quantification of the actual antero-posterior translation of the femur over the tibia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronics, Computer Sciences and Systems, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy. rita.stagni@unibo.it
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stagni
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fantozzi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Catani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leardini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005471:Fluoroscopy; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017847:Patellar Ligament / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology