Three-dimensional dynamic model of the knee

A three-dimensional dynamic model of the knee was developed to study the interactions between the articulating surfaces of the bones and the geometrical and mechanical properties of the ligaments. The contact-surface geometry of the distal femur, proximal tibia, and patella was modeled by fitting polynomials to each of the eight articular surfaces. Twelve elastic elements were used to describe the function of the ligamentous and capsular structures of the knee. The origin and insertion sites of each model ligament were obtained from cadaveric data reported for an average-size knee. The response of the model to both anterior-posterior drawer and axial rotation suggests that the geometrical and mechanical properties of the model ligaments approximate the behavior of real ligaments in the intact knee. Comparison of the model’s response with experimental data obtained from cadaveric knee extension indicate further that the three-dimensional model reproduces the response of the real knee during movement.