Biomechanical modeling of knee for specific patients with chronic anterior cruciate ligament injury

Abstract

In this study we modeled a patient specific 3D knee after anterior cruicate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The purpose of the ACL reconstruction is to achieve stability in the entire range of motion of the knee and the establishment of the normal gait pattern. We present a new reconstruction technique that generates patient-specific 3D knee models from patient's magnetic resonant images (MRIs). The motion of the ACL reconstruction patients is measured by OptiTrack system with six infrared cameras. Finite element model of bones, cartilage and meniscus is used for determination stress and strain distribution at different body postures during gait analysis. It was observed that the maximum effective von Mises stress distribution up to 8 MPa occurred during 30% of the gait cycle on the meniscus. The biomechanical model of the knee joint during gait analysis can provide insight into the underlying mechanisms of knee function after ACL reconstruction.