Contact Characteristics of Knee-joint Cartilage During Gait Based on Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

Background: As a common clinical disease, knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is characterized by chronic changes and articular cartilage wear, while the in vivo cartilage contact characteristics of the knee joint during walking are still unclear. It is difficult to implement real-time assistance and treatment for KOA patients accurately. Objective: To investigate the contact biomechanics of knee cartilage during gait and predict the mechanism and location of cartilage damage, aiming to provide theoretical support for real-time rehabilitation assistance for KOA patients. Method: In this study, the subject-specific finite element (FE) method was used to predict the contact characteristics during the stance phase of the gait. A healthy volunteer prepared an intact geometric left knee model based on magnetic resonance scans. The kinematic and dynamic data were collected in a gait experiment and simulated using the personalized musculoskeletal model. Results: Throughout the gait cycle, the contact pressure, contact area and principal Green- Lagrangian strain in the tibiofemoral joint show two obvious peaks concentrated on the 25% and 75% stance phase. The maximum values were 15.32 MPa, 400.607 mm2, and 24.35% on the tibial side, while 15.58 MPa, 683.538 mm2, and 29.68% on the femoral side, respectively. The contact characteristics were significantly greater in the medial compartment than in the lateral. Conclusion: A FE simulation method was developed in this study to forecast the contact characteristics of the human knee joint. The prevention, rehabilitation, and treatment of KOA should focus more on the medial compartment close to the intercondylar eminence, both for the femoral and tibial cartilages.