Implant Technology Unit 3 Flashcards
what are the main design difficulty for knee prostheses
- needs to have an acceptable replication of the motion of the natural joint
- sufficient stability w.out being so rigidly constratined in its motion that it resulst in high stresses at the bone-implant interfaces under lateral and twisting loads
what is the most successful knee protheses design to date
“total condylar” design
what keeps the knee joint stable
ligaments, posterior joint capsule and good musculature
soft tissues act together to hold the knee in place throughtout its range of motion
[knee prostheses must take in to account the ligaments]
what do the collateral and cruciate ligaments work together to prevent
subluxation
what are the main ligaments of the knee and their function
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL): resists posterior subluxation of the femur
Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL): resists anterior subluxation of the femur
Lateral collateral ligament (LCL): resists adduction of the joint
Medial collateral ligament (MCL): resists abduction of the joint
All the ligaments act together to limit distraction of the knee
All the ligaments act together to limit long axis rotation of the joint
what is the function of the posterior capsule
resist hyper-extension
what are the ACL and PCL named in relation too
their attachment to the tibia
what would happen if there was no ACL and no PCL
no ACL = femur can slide backwards over tibia
no PCL = femur can slide excessively forward
what is important for the surgeon to do in a knee replacement
correct ligament imbalance and looseness
if ligaments are damaged or removed during knee replacements surgery, the resulsting loss of stability must be compensated for in the design of the prosthetic knee
what does subluxation of a joint mean
partial or complete dislocation of a joint
what type of knee subluxation does ACL prevent
anterior subluxation of the tibia
[posterior subluxation of the femur = same thing]
knee ligaments move isometrially, what does this mean
they keep the same lenght as they move and do not lengthen or shorten
what happens to the axis of rotation in the knee as it flexes
axis of rotation changes
known as instantaneous centre of rotation as it changes as every instant of motion
moves posteriorly as knee rotates
[screw-home mechanism which follows a spiral motion]
what is the shape of the tibia plateau
medial compartment is slightly concave [lower at the centre than at the edges]
lateral compartment is convex
what is the motion at the knee joint as it flexes and extends
knee extends - tibia rotates externally
knee flexes - tibia rotates internally
[at full extension rotation is restricted by interlocking femoral and tibial condyles]
what is the name of the mechanism that desribes the movement of the knee
screw home mechanism
what does the four bar linkage cruciate mechanism do
constrains the motion of the femur on the tibia so that there is a combo of rolling and sliding motion
if the radius of the posterior part of the femoral condule is 22mm and the knee flexion is 140 degrees - calculate the lenght of the arc
s = [2 x pie x radius] x 140/360
radius in this case would be 22mm
s = 54mm
what does the limit to rolling distance in the knee prevent
[Why does the femur not roll off the tibia as the knee flexes?]
controls the position of the most posterior point of the centre of rotation
so enabling the knee to flex fully w/out rolling up against the posterior capsule
[cruciate ligamenst and joint capsule prevents it from doing so]
How does the position of the instantaneous centre of rotation change as the knee moves from extension to flexion?
It moves posteriorly by upwards of 10 mm and distally by a few mm
what force is the knee joint normally under and why is the magnitude greater than that of the body weight
compression
forces much higher than the body weight due to the combined effect of these gravitational forces, the contracting forces of the muscle and the balancing loads of the ligaments
joint force ranges from 2 to 6 times body weight under normal daily activity
since the knee is under mainly compressive load, what does the mean for designs of prostheses
that cement is a good option as it is very effective in compression
during the STANCE phase of gait what forces are seen at the knee
[GRF = ground reaction force]
[BW = body weight]
- vertical component of GRF just exceeds body weight during stance phase
- transmitted to the knee
- compressive force due to the action of quadriceps acting via patellar ligament generates max force of about 3 x BW
- GRF is about 1 X BW
- Resultant joint reaction force = 4 x BW
there is a fore-aft ground reaction force component of up to 20% body weight which is also transmitted to the joint - what has to work to counter act this
the cruciate ligaments
[where the forward component of the load acting on the femur tends to push it forwards over the tibia and the PCL restrains this movement]
what is the other component of GRF whilst walking
a horizontal component directed medially causing an adduction moment
this generates a turning moment on the knee
typically about 5% of body weight
[must be balanced by the muscles and ligaments]
what happens to the load distribution due to an adduction moment caused by medially acting horizontal GRF
the load distribution shifts such that the greater the horizontal force, the greater the load transferred from the lateral compartment to the medial compartment of the joint
what happens when it is a low magnitude sideways medial reaction force [like those that occur during gait]
the quadriceps muscle acting via the patellar tendon ligament, can pull the joint together hard enough to keep both condylar surfaces in contact with the tibial plateau
what happens when the horizontal force increases due to more strenuous activities
becomes necessary to use hamstrings as well, thus increasing joint reaction force
what happens as the load continues to increase
the muscles do not have strenght to maintain contact at both condylar surfaces
lateral side loses contact and all the load is taken by the MEDIAL condyle
stability of the joint relies on the LATERAL collateral ligament which is required to balance the turning moment due to sideways acting force
what implications does the high loads acting on the medial compartment of the knee have on joint replacement designs
the tibial component needs to be able to transfer high medial compartment loads on its upper surface to the underlying bone w/out causing high compressive stresses which could cause the bone to fail
what would be required if the collateral ligaments where absent or cannot be retained during surgery
the replacement joint would be required to provide all the lateral stability
linked prosthesis, such as a hinge, would be required
what other forces is the knee require to resist
axially generated torques which try to twist the knee axially and, if excessive can cause a meniscus to tear
[stability once again relies on ligaments, replacement joint would have to do the same]
why does the joint reaction force at the knee increases as the sideways horizontal component of the ground reaction force increases
as force increases, a greater patella tendon force and a greater hamstring force are required to balance its effects which adds to the joint reaction force
What adverse effect could a high contact force in the medial compartment of the knee have on a joint replacement
cause high local stresses medially which could cause the underlying cancellous bone to fail
what is the general criteria for knee implants
- Be tolerated within the human body with no short term and little long term risk of adverse toxic effects such as carcinogenesis
- Achieve its aim of relieving pain and restoring the activities of daily living.
- Last a reasonable length of time which ideally should extend beyond the expected life span of the individual patient without the need for revision
- Be insertable by a competent surgeon of average ability such that a predictable outcome can reasonably be guaranteed.
- cost-effective
what are most commerically avaliable knee replacements made of
femoral component - cobalt chrome
tibial component - HDP
what is the minimum functional kinematic requirements of a knee replacement
- should fully extend to 180° at which point the patient should be able to stand without the need for muscular effort by the quadriceps.
- collateral ligaments and posterior capsule must be intact to enable screw home mechanism or be designed with alternative stabilising mechanism
- should flex to 90 degrees [allows person to walk up/down stairs]
- should permit slight axial rotation as the knee extends to maintain natural ligamet tension throughout flexion and extension
what is essential for the surgeon to do in a knee replacement
[apart from balance the ligaments]
essential that the two bearing surfaces are cut parallel
means the tibial surface is maintained at right angles to the tibial shaft, parallel w/ the ground when weight bearing
femoral cut will have to be at an angle to compensate for the natural angulation of the femur relative to the tibia
[cut needs to be 6 or 7 degrees relative to axis of femur]
what needs to be removed to ensure that the replacement knee can fully extend
posterior capsule of the knee off the back of the femur
how should collateral ligaments be balanced
balanced in tension so that the bony cuts are parallel when the bones are stretched apart by the new joint and there is no tendency of the joint to open more medially than laterally or vice versa
what is the easiest method to balance the ligaments
lenghten tightened ligaments to match slack ones
what is the controversy of the cost of knee replacements compared to hips
they cost on average 5 times as much as hips
what is meant by the word “constraint” in context of modern knee replacement
relationship between tibial and femoral bearing surface geometrics
what are the functional design features of knee replacements
- to provide an acceptable ROM of joint combined with good stability under loading
- screw home mechanism or some equilavent that allows standing up straight w/out the need to apply the quad muscle
- if 1 or more ligaments cannot be used, the prosthesis must be designed to compensate for the functional loss
what knee implant design is used if there is no ligaments intact
hinged prosthesis
- constrains the motion of the knee to a single axis of rotation with total stability
what is the problem with hinged joint prosthesis
has no give under lateral and long axis rotational loading
transmits the high shear forces associated w/ these loadings to the implant-cement and cement-bone interfaces
what condition often causes the destruction or degradation of the ACL
OA
- PCL is preserved more often that not
how does the preservation of the PCL influence the knee replacement design used
PCL controls rolling motion of the tibia
implant depends of whether PCL is retained or removed
if not retained it is necessary to substitute a mechanism within the prosthesis
why is it important to find some mechanism to replace PCL
enables the femur to rotate on the tibial plateau w/out sliding too far posteriorly
thus allowing a good range of knee flexion w/out restriction of movement due to soft tissue
what are the theoretical advantages of retaining the PCL
provides some degree of A-P knee stability and may preserve some proprioceptic activity
normal gait unaffected w/out PCL but walking on stairs more stable w/ PCL
what are disadv of retaining PCL
constricts a free surgical dissection of posterior capsule
- may limit full exntesion
- enourages femoral component to slide over tibial bearing which may have deterimental surface wear effects
removal of PCL allows the use of more congruent joint surfaces
- reduces HDP wear
removal may correct deformity also
[some surgeons prefer to remove PCL]
what is the design of prostheses that retain the PCL and what aspect of the surgery is difficult
have fairly flat tibial plateau like that on natural tibia
need to position tibial plataeu accurately to get the PCL to work as it should
if PCL is too loose - allows forward movement of the femur on the tibia so that normal rolling back motion no longer works
if PCL is too tight - there will be restricted degree of flexion, excessive rolling back of the femur on the tibia. Also compression of the 2 prothetic joint surfaces together posteriorly, causing high contact stresses
what problems are associated with PCL retaining prosthesis designs
HDP wear problems
Fatigue problems
Why does a replacement knee need to have a fairly flat tibial plateau when the PCL is retained
Because the PCL could otherwise become lax or too tight during flexion- extension movement.