Development and evaluation of a new method for sagittal knee movement reproduction
An external approach for application in knee distracting devices
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Abstract
Knee osteoarthritis affects up to 10% of adults in Western societies. Estimations on prevalence show over five times more patients in 2030. Conventional therapy does not provide sufficient and cost effective therapy. Joint distraction is currently considered as new treatment option. Preliminary studies explored the feasibility of knee joint distraction with experimental setups. Further evolvement of distractors should include accurate joint motion reproduction to improve circumstances for tissue recovery, to prevent joint damage, and to reduce immobilization of patients. A method was developed for patient specific joint motion reproduction. Evaluation was performed on cadaver joints and delivered a proof of principle. Within 40 degrees of flexion, a prototype was successfully evaluated for loadings present during natural joint loading. Application of the method can provide clinical and economic advantages by reducing invasiveness of procedures and by reducing costs with low complexity therapy and reduction of treatment time.