Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a widely accepted surgical procedure for the treatment of patients with end-stage osteoarthritis (OA). However, the function of the knee is not always fully recovered after TKA. We used a dual fluoroscopic imaging system to evaluate the in vivo kinematics of the knee with medial compartment OA before and after a posterior cruciate ligament-retaining TKA (PCR-TKA) during weight-bearing knee flexion, and compared the results to those of normal knees. The OA knees displayed similar internal/external tibial rotation to normal knees. However, the OA knees had less overall posterior femoral translation relative to the tibia between 0 • and 105 • flexion and more varus knee rotation between 0 • and 45 • flexion, than in the normal knees. Additionally, in the OA knees the femur was located more medially than in the normal knees, particularly between 30 • and 60 • flexion. After PCR-TKA, the knee kinematics were not restored to normal. The overall internal tibial rotation and posterior femoral translation between 0 • and 105 • knee flexion were dramatically reduced. Additionally, PCR-TKA introduced an abnormal anterior femoral translation during early knee flexion, and the femur was located lateral to the tibia throughout weight-bearing flexion. The data help understand the biomechanical functions of the knee with medial compartment OA before and after contemporary PCR-TKA. They may also be useful for improvement of future prostheses designs and surgical techniques in treatment of knees with end-stage OA.

The objective of this study was to investigate biomechanics of TKA patients during high flexion. Six patients (seven knees) with a posterior-substituting TKA and weight-bearing flexion >130 degrees were included in the study. The six degree-of-freedom kinematics, tibiofemoral contact, and cam-post contact were measured during a deep knee bend using dual-plane fluoroscopy. The patients achieved average weight-bearing flexion of 139.5 +/- 4.5 degrees. Posterior femoral translation and internal tibial rotation increased steadily beyond 90 degrees flexion, and a sharp increase in varus rotation was noted at maximum flexion. Initial cam-post engagement was observed at 100.3 +/- 6.7 degrees flexion. Five knees had cam-post disengagement before maximum flexion. Lateral femoral condylar lift-off was found in five out of seven knees at maximum flexion, and medial condylar lift-off was found in one knee. Future studies should investigate if the kinematic characteristics of posterior-substituting TKA knees noted in this study are causative factors of high knee flexion.

Even though posterior substituting total knee arthroplasty has been widely used in surgery, how the cam-post mechanism (posterior substituting mechanism) affects knee joint kinematics and function in patients is not known. The objective of the present study was to investigate posterior femoral translation, internal tibial rotation, tibiofemoral contact, and cam-post engagement of total knee arthroplasty patients during in vivo weight-bearing flexion. Twenty-four knees with a PS TKA were investigated while performing a single leg weight-bearing lunge from full extension to maximum flexion as images were recorded using a dual fluoroscopic system. The in vivo knee position at each targeted flexion angle was reproduced using 3D TKA models and the fluoroscopic images. The kinematics of the knee was measured from the series of the total knee arthroplasty models. The cam-post engagement was determined when the surface model of the femoral cam overlapped with that of the tibial post. The mean maximum flexion angle for all the subjects was 112.5 +/- 13.1 degrees . The mean flexion angle where cam-post engagement was observed was 91.1 +/- 10.9 degrees . The femur moved anteriorly from 0 degrees to 30 degrees and posteriorly through the rest of the flexion range. The internal tibial rotation increased approximately 6 degrees from full extension to 90 degrees of flexion and decreased slightly with further flexion. Both the medial and lateral contact point moved posteriorly from 0 degrees to 30 degrees , remained relatively constant from 30 degrees to 90 degrees , and then moved further posterior from 90 degrees to maximum flexion. The in vivo cam-post engagement corresponded to increased posterior translation and reduced internal tibial rotation at high flexion of the posterior substituting total knee arthroplasty. The initial cam-post engagement was also mildly correlated with the maximum flexion angle of the knee (R = 0.51, p = 0.019). A later cam-post engagement might indicate an environment conducive to greater flexion. If the factors that affect cam-post engagement timing can be established, proper manipulation of those factors may improve the function of the knee after posterior substituting total knee arthroplasty.

Analysis of polyethylene component wear and implant loosening in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) requires precise knowledge of in vivo articular motion and loading conditions. This study presents a simultaneous, in vivo measurement of tibiofemoral articular contact forces and contact kinematics in three TKA patients. These measurements were accomplished via a dual fluoroscopic imaging system and instrumented tibial implants during dynamic single leg lunge and chair risingsitting. The measured forces and contact locations were also used to determine mediolateral distribution of axial contact forces. Contact kinematics data showed a medial pivot during flexion of the knee, for all patients in the study. Average axial forces were higher for lunge compared to chair rising-sitting (224% body weight vs. 187% body weight). In this study we measured peak anteroposterior and mediolateral forces averaging 13.3% BW, during lunge and 18.5% BW during chair rising-sitting. Mediolateral distributions of axial contact force were both patient and activity specific. All patients showed equitable medial-lateral loading during lunge but greater loads at the lateral compartment during chair rising-sitting. The results of this study may enable more accurate reproduction of in vivo loads and articular motion patterns in wear simulators and finite element models. This in turn may help advance our understanding of factors limiting longevity of TKA implants, such as aseptic loosening and polyethylene component wear, and enable improved TKA designs.

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Increasing the range of knee flexion following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) remains an important objective for design of new implants and advancement of surgical techniques. With the excellent long term (10–15 year) outcome of TKA, surgeons are more confident about performing the procedure on younger, more active patients demanding increased range of knee flexion [1–3]. Numerous factors have been linked to limited flexion (<120°) following TKA, including patient factors such as preoperative range of motion, intraoperative factors such as component malposition, and implant design [1–3]. Extensor mechanism overstretching due to overstuffing of the knee joint is hypothesized to be a contributing factor limiting knee flexion [1–4]. However, no study to date has investigated the changes in tibiofemoral joint space following TKA. The aim of this study was to examine pre- and post-operative tibiofemoral joint space in a group of TKA patients during weight-bearing knee flexion and to compare it to that in the normal/healthy knee. This could help determine if changes in the proximal-distal distance between the femur and the tibia (tibiofemoral joint space) could lead to extensor mechanism overstretching and consequently limited range of flexion.

Accurate knowledge of in vivo articular contact kinematics and contact forces is required to quantitatively understand factors limiting life of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) implants, such as polyethylene component wear and implant loosening [1]. Determination of in vivo tibiofemoral contact forces has been a challenging issue in biomechanics. Historically, instrumented tibial implants have been used to measure tibiofemoral forces in vitro [2] and computational models involving inverse dynamic optimization have been used to estimate joint forces in vivo [3]. Recently, D’Lima et al. reported the first in vivo measurement of 6DOF tibiofemoral forces via an instrumented implant in a TKA patient [4]. However this technique does not provide a direct estimation of tibiofemoral contact forces in the medial and lateral compartments. Recently, a dual fluoroscopic imaging system has been used to accurately determine tibiofemoral contact locations on the medial and lateral tibial polyethylene surfaces [5]. The objective of this study was to combine the dual fluoroscope technique and the instrumented TKAs to determine the dynamic 3D articular contact kinematics and contact forces on the medial and lateral tibial polyethylene surfaces during functional activities.