title: A procedure for estimating the relevant forces in the human knee using a four-bar mechanism.
abstract: Knee injuries, especially those that affect the cruciate and lateral ligaments, are one of the most serious and frequent pathologies that affect the lower human extremity. Hence, the aim of this study is to develop a dynamic model for the lower extremity capable of estimating forces, forces in the cruciate and collateral ligaments and those normal to the articular cartilage, generated in the knee. The proposed model considers a four-bar mechanism in the knee, a spherical joint in the pelvis and a revolute one in the ankle. The four-bar mechanism is obtained by a synthesis process. The dynamic model includes the inertial properties of the femur, tibia, patella and the foot, the ground reaction force and the most important muscles in the knee. Muscle forces are estimated using an optimisation technique. Results from the application of the model on a real human task are presented.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación de Tecnología de Vehículos (CITV), Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera S/N, 46022 Valencia, Spain. nifar@upvnet.upv.es
authors.forename: Nidal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Farhat
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mata
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fayos
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D007717:Knee / Q000502:physiology*; D008953:Models, Anatomic