Intact Knee and ACL Forces for the Human and Ovine Model During Simulated In Vivo Human and In Vivo Ovine Motions

Patients frequently experience knee injuries, with the ACL being one of the most commonly injured structures requiring surgery [1]. ACL tears typically lead to osteoarthritis in the long term, even after surgical treatment [2]. This chronic joint degeneration has been attributed to the failure of current ACL reconstructions to restore the native biomechanics of the knee joint [3]. To design more effective treatments, investigators must first understand normal knee function for multiple activities of daily living (ADLs). The 3D in vivo forces and moments of the normal intact knee, as well as those for just the ACL have not yet been determined for any ADL. These in vivo forces and moments can potentially be measured for multiple ADLs in an animal model. A biomechanical surrogate allows for 1) sensors or marker systems to be rigidly fixed to the knee joint to accurately measure the 6 degree of freedom (DOF) kinematics, and for 2) the kinematics to be simulated and applied to the harvested limb to measure the corresponding joint forces and moments.