The objective of this study was to develop a biomimetic, highly porous collagen‐hydroxyapatite (HA) composite scaffold for bone tissue engineering (TE), combining the biological performance and the high porosity of a collagen scaffold with the high mechanical stiffness of a HA scaffold. Pure collagen scaffolds were produced using a lyophilization process and immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) to provide a biomimetic coating. Pure collagen scaffolds served as a control. The mechanical, material, and structural properties of the scaffolds were analyzed and the biological performance of the scaffolds was evaluated by monitoring the cellular metabolic activity and cell number at 1, 2, and 7 days post seeding. The SBF‐treated scaffolds exhibited a significantly increased stiffness compared to the pure collagen group (4‐fold increase), while a highly interconnected structure (95%) was retained. FTIR indicated that the SBF coating exhibited similar characteristics to pure HA. Micro‐CT showed a homogeneous distribution of HA. Scanning electron microscopy also indicated a mineralization of the collagen combined with a precipitation of HA onto the collagen. The excellent biological performance of the collagen scaffolds was maintained in the collagen‐HA scaffolds as demonstrated from cellular metabolic activity and total cell number. This investigation has successfully developed a biomimetic collagen‐HA composite scaffold. An increase in the mechanical properties combined with an excellent biological performance in vitro was observed, indicating the high potential of the scaffold for bone TE. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2009

No abstract

We report the kinematic and early clinical results of a patient- and observer-blinded randomised controlled trial in which CT scans were used to compare potential impingement-free range of movement (ROM) and acetabular component cover between patients treated with either the navigated 'femur-first' total hip arthroplasty (THA) method (n = 66; male/female 29/37, mean age 62.5 years; 50 to 74) or conventional THA (n = 69; male/female 35/34, mean age 62.9 years; 50 to 75). The Hip Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, the Harris hip score, the Euro-Qol-5D and the Mancuso THA patient expectations score were assessed at six weeks, six months and one year after surgery. A total of 48 of the patients (84%) in the navigated 'femur-first' group and 43 (65%) in the conventional group reached all the desirable potential ROM boundaries without prosthetic impingement for activities of daily living (ADL) in flexion, extension, abduction, adduction and rotation (p = 0.016). Acetabular component cover and surface contact with the host bone were > 87% in both groups. There was a significant difference between the navigated and the conventional groups' Harris hip scores six weeks after surgery (p = 0.010). There were no significant differences with respect to any clinical outcome at six months and one year of follow-up. The navigated 'femur-first' technique improves the potential ROM for ADL without prosthetic impingement, although there was no observed clinical difference between the two treatment groups.

Total hip replacement is an often-performed orthopedic surgical procedure; the amount of procedures undertaken will increase since our life expectancy is growing. In order to optimize function, hip biomechanics should be restored to as near normal as possible. The goal of this pilot study was to determine whether or not it is feasible to compute the vectorial hip reaction force pathways on the head of the prosthesis and the force angles relative to the cup of the prosthesis that occur during gait in total hip replacement patients, serving as an objective measurement of the functional outcome following hip replacement.A three-dimensional gait analysis, measuring ground reaction forces and kinematics, was performed. The data retrieved from the gait analysis was used as the input for the musculoskeletal model to compute vectorial joint reaction forces for data processing. To evaluate the position and orientation of the joint reaction forces, the force path, as well as the force angles for the operated and non-operated joint, has been calculated during the stance phase of the specific leg.The force path for subject 2 on the non-operated side is only located in the posterior-lateral quarter, as is the force path for subject 1. In contrast to this subject, the force path for subject 2 at the operated hip joint can be found only within the anterior quarter of the head of the implant, where it is nearly equally distributed in the medio-lateral half of the prosthesis head. The force-inclination angles on the cup of subject 1, with respect to the plane of the socket face, indicates that the force vector is mainly positioned in the same quadrant when compared with subject 2 (in a cup-fixed coordinate system). The force-anteversion angle behaves similarly to the force-inclination angle, even when the effects are not as pronounced.The proposed methods in this article are aiming to define two functional outcomes of total hip replacement that are related to wear and rim loading. It is accepted that wear is not only a function of time, but a function of use. Owing to the methods listed in this article, we are able to determine a) the applied force and b) the sliding distance (force pathway) in a subject-specific manner. The computed hip-reaction force angles and the distance to the rim cup are a measurement for cup or rim loading, and occurs in the so-called safe-zones. This method may well give us insight into the biomechanical situation during gait, after receiving total hip replacement, that we need to fully understand the mechanisms acting on a hip joint and to prove a possible increase of functional outcome after receiving total hip replacement.

A key requirement in both native knee joints and total knee arthroplasty is a stable capsular ligament complex. However, knee stability is highly individual and ranges from clinically loose to tight. So far, hardly any in vivo data on the intrinsic mechanical of the knee are available. This study investigated if stiffness of the native ligament complex may be determined in vivo using a standard knee balancer. Measurements were obtained with a commercially available knee balancer, which was initially calibrated in vitro . 5 patients underwent reconstruction of the force-displacement curves of the ligament complex. Stiffness of the medial and lateral compartments were calculated to measure the stability of the capsular ligament complex. All force-displacement curves consisted of a non-linear section at the beginning and of a linear section from about 80 N onwards. The medial compartment showed values of 28.4 ± 1.2 N/mm for minimum stiffness and of 39.9 ± 1.1 N/mm for maximum stiffness; the respective values for the lateral compartment were 19.9 ± 0.9 N/mm and 46.6 ± 0.8 N/mm. A commercially available knee balancer may be calibrated for measuring stiffness of knee ligament complex in vivo , which may contribute to a better understanding of the intrinsic mechanical behaviour of knee joints.

One of the main goals in reconstructing rotator cuff tears is the restoration of glenohumeral joint stability, which is subsequently of utmost importance in order to prevent degenerative damage such as superior labral anterior posterior (SLAP) lesion, arthrosis, and malfunction. The goal of the current study was to facilitate musculoskeletal models in order to estimate glenohumeral instability introduced by muscle weakness due to cuff lesions. Inverse dynamics simulations were used to compute joint reaction forces for several static abduction tasks with different muscle weakness. Results were compared with the existing literature in order to ensure the model validity. Further arm positions taken from activities of daily living, requiring the rotator cuff muscles were modeled and their contribution to joint kinetics computed. Weakness of the superior rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus; infraspinatus) leads to a deviation of the joint reaction force to the cranial dorsal rim of the glenoid. Massive rotator cuff defects showed higher potential for glenohumeral instability in contrast to single muscle ruptures. The teres minor muscle seems to substitute lost joint torque during several simulated muscle tears to maintain joint stability. Joint instability increases with cuff tear size. Weakness of the upper part of the rotator cuff leads to a joint reaction force closer to the upper glenoid rim. This indicates the comorbidity of cuff tears with SLAP lesions. The teres minor is crucial for maintaining joint stability in case of massive cuff defects and should be uprated in clinical decision-making. ß

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is becoming increasingly popular. Supporters claim that the main advantages of MIS total hip replacement (THR) are less pain and a faster rehabilitation and recovery. Critics claim that safety and efficacy of MIS are yet to be determined. We focused on a biomechanical comparison between surgical standard and MIS approaches for THR during the early recovery of patients. A validated, parameterized musculoskeletal model was set to perform a squat of a 50th percentile healthy European male. A bilateral motion was chosen to investigate effects on the contralateral side. Surgical approaches were simulated by excluding the incised muscles from the computations. Resulting hip reaction forces and their symmetry and orientation were analyzed. MIS THR seemed less influential on the symmetry index of hip reaction forces between the operated and nonoperated leg when compared to the standard lateral approach. Hip reaction forces at peak loads of the standard transgluteal approach were 24% higher on the contralateral side when compared to MIS approaches. Our results suggest that MIS THR contributes to a greater symmetry of hip reaction forces in absolute value as well as force-orientation following THR.

Standard combined cup and stem anteversion rules do not improve postoperative outcome as measured by gait analysis and clinical scores within one year after THA.