Stress distribution in the knee joint in relation to tibiofemoral angle using the finite element method

Abstract

The article presents the results of a preliminary study on the structural analysis of the knee joint, considering changes in the mechanical properties of the articular cartilage of the joint. Studies have been made due to the need to determine the tension distribution occurring in the cartilage of the human knee. This distribution could be the starting point for designing custom made human knee prosthesis. Basic anatomy, biomechanical analysis of the knee joint and articular cartilage was introduced. Based on a series of computed tomography [CT] scans, the 3D model of human knee joint was reverse-engineered, processed and exported to CAD software. The static mechanical analysis of the knee joint model was conducted using the finite element method [FEM], in three different values of tibiofemoral angle and with varying mechanical properties of the cartilage tissue. Main conclusions of the study are: the capability to absorb loads by articular cartilage of the knee joint is preliminary determined as decreasing with increasing degenerations of the cartilage and with age of a patient. Without further information on changes of cartilage’s mechanical parameters in time it is hard to determine the nature of relation between mentioned capability and these parameters.