Method and clinical validation of a kinetostatic model of the human knee

Abstract

In this work is developed and validated a static model of the human knee, based on mechanism theory, to provide surgeons information that relates forces at the anterior cruciate ligament graft (ACL) with its fixing position. The methodology for the static model is based on reimplementing a pure kinematic knee model available in the literature. This kinematic model is redefined using Davies' method to obtain a static model that yields the forces at ligaments and condyles. The proposed static model is validated by simulation of a clinical application where numerical results are compared with physiological ones. The validation uses the forces of the ACL at selected insertion points as criteria. This aims to determine the graft insertion points, at femur, that best leads to the natural response of an intact knee. Results show the applicability of the method as a support tool for medical decision making in the preoperative planning.