Understanding and interpreting in vivo kinematic studies

Abstract

Radiographic imaging and shape-matching techniques have been used since the late 1980s to quantify the motions of knee replacements in vivo. These studies have shown how knee implants move in vivo, how implant design affects knee kinematics, and how different surgical and design factors influence knee mechanics and patient function. In general, knee implants that definitively control the anteroposterior position of the femur with respect to the tibia achieve greater weight-bearing flexion and exhibit kinematics that are more likely to result in better patient function and implant longevity. © 2005 Springer Medizin Verlag Heidelberg.