Background Few studies have examined factors that affect acetabular cup positioning. Since cup positioning has been linked to dislocation and increased bearing surface wear, these factors affecting cup position are important considerations. Question/purposes We determined the percent of optimally positioned acetabular cups and whether patient and surgical factors affected acetabular component position. Methods We obtained postoperative AP pelvis and crosstable lateral radiographs on 2061 consecutive patients who received a THA or hip resurfacing from 2004 to 2008. One thousand nine hundred and fifty-two hips had AP pelvic radiographs with correct position of the hip center, and 1823 had both version and abduction angles measured. The AP radiograph was measured using Hip Analysis Suite TM to calculate the cup inclination and version angles, using the lateral film to determine version direction. Acceptable ranges were defined for abduction (30°-45°) and version (5°-25°).Results From the 1823 hips, 1144 (63%) acetabular cups were within the abduction range, 1441 (79%) were within the version range, and 917 (50%) were within the range for both. Surgical approach, surgeon volume, and obesity (body mass index [ 30) independently predicted malpositioned cups.

Patellar tracking during in vivo weightbearing knee function is not well understood. This study investigated patellar tracking of eight subjects during a full range of weightbearing flexion using magnetic resonance imaging and dual orthogonal fluoroscopy. The data were reported using a clinical description based on patellar and femoral joint coordinate systems and using patellar indices based on geometrical features of the femur and patella. The mean patellar shift was within 3 mm over the entire range of flexion. The patella tilted laterally from 0° to 75°, and then tilted medially beyond 75° of flexion. The mean tilt was within 6°. Similarly, the mean patellar rotation was small at early flexion, and the mean total excursion of patellar rotation was about 8°. The patellofemoral indices showed that the mean sulcus angle and congruence angle varied within 8° over the entire flexion range. The mean lateral patellar displacement was within 6 mm. A consistent decrease in lateral patellar tilt and an increase in lateral patellofemoral angle were observed with knee flexion. In conclusion, patellar motion is relatively small with respect to the femur during in vivo weightbearing knee flexion. These data may provide baseline knowledge for understanding normal patellar tracking.

Fluoroscopic techniques have been recently used to detect in vivo knee joint kinematics. This article presents a technique that uses two fluoroscopes to form a dual orthogonal fluoroscopic system for accurately measuring in vivo 6DOF total knee arthoplasty (TKA) kinematics. The system was rigorously validated and used to investigate in vivo kinematics of 12 patients after cruciate-retaining TKA. In a repeatability study, the pose of two different TKA components was reproduced with standard deviations (SD) of 0.17 mm and 0.578 about all three axes. In an accuracy study, the reproduced component positions were compared to the known component positions. Position and rotation mean errors were all within 0.11 mm and 0.248, with SD within 0.11 mm and 0.488, respectively. The results of this study show that the matching process of the imaging system is able to accurately reproduce the spatial positions and orientations of both the femoral and tibial components. For CR TKA patients, a consistent anterior femoral translation was observed with flexion through 458 of flexion, and thereafter, the femur translated posteriorly with further flexion. The medial-lateral translation was measured to be less than 2 mm throughout the entire flexion range. Internal tibial rotation steadily increased through maximum flexion by approximately 68. Varus rotation was also measured with flexion but had a mean magnitude less than 2.08. In conclusion, the dual orthogonal fluoroscopic system accurately detects TKA kinematics and is applicable towards other joints of the musculoskeletal system, including the wrist, elbow, shoulder, ankle, and spine. ß