Development and testing of patient-specific knee replacements.
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.
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa. dawie@sun.ac.za
Dawie
D
van den Heever
Cornie
C
Scheffer
Pieter
P
Erasmus
Edwin
E
Dillon
D000328:Adult; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D007720:Knee Prosthesis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D016896:Treatment Outcome