In vitro response of the natural cadaver knee to the loading profiles specified in a standard for knee implant wear testing

Levi G. Sutton, Frederick W. Werner, Hani Haider, Tracy Hamblin, Jonathan J. Clabeaux

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how a natural knee responds to the inputs of a total knee replacement testing standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This load control standard prescribes forces to be used for wear testing of knee replacements independent of implant size or design. A parallel ISO standard provides wear testing inputs that are displacement based instead of force based. Eight fresh frozen cadaveric knees were potted and tested in a 6 degree of freedom knee simulator using the load-control standard. The resulting displacements during load-control testing were compared to the prescribed displacements of the ISO displacement standard. At half the tibial torque prescribed by the load standard there was three times more average internal tibial rotation (20.3°) than is prescribed by the displacement standard (5.7°). The AP motion resulting from load testing was much different than is specified by the displacement standard. All eight knees had anterior tibial translation with respect to the femur during swing phase while the displacement standard specifies posterior tibial displacement. The variation in these motions among knees and their difference from the ISO displacement standard may be one factor that explains why wear results of total knee replacements based on ISO load or displacement testing frequently do not agree with each other or with clinical retrievals.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2203-2207
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Biomechanics
Volume43
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2010

Keywords

  • Implant wear
  • Knee simulator
  • Total knee replacement

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Rehabilitation

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