Three-Dimensional Evaluation of Similarity of Right and Left Knee Joints

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anatomical similarity of three-dimensional (3D) morphometric parameters between right and left knees. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten fresh-frozen paired cadaveric knees were tested. Following dissection, footprint areas of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) were measured. Surface scanning was performed using a 3D scanner. Scanned data were reproduced and morphometric parameters were measured on specialized software. After making mirror models, we compared footprint center positions of the ACL and PCL of both sides and calculated the average deviation of 3D alignment between the right- and left-side models. RESULTS: No significant side-to-side differences were found in any morphometric parameters. Bony shapes displayed a side-to-side difference of < 1 mm. Distal femoral and proximal tibial volumes did not present side-to-side differences, either; the average 3D deviations of alignment between the right and left sides were 0.8±0.4/1.1±0.6 mm (distal femur/proximal tibia). Center-to-center distances between the right and left ACL footprints were 2.6/2.7 mm (femur/tibia) for the anteromedial bundle and 2.4/2.8 mm for the posterolateral bundle. They were 1.9/1.5 mm for the anterolateral bundle and 2.2/1.8 mm for the posteromedial bundle of the PCL. CONCLUSIONS: There was a remarkable 3D morphometric similarity between right and left knees. Our results might support the concept of obtaining morphologic reference data from the uninvolved contralateral knee.

Stability of the permanently bent plates used in mandibular reconstructive surgery.

In mandibular reconstructive surgery, straight surgical plates are predominantly used for osteotomy. In this process, a straight plate is bent to fit to the shape of the patient's defect. This potentially compromises the stability of the plate because of changes in mechanical properties resulting from plastic deformation; however, the effect of plastic deformation on stability has yet been investigated. In this study, we assess the stability of three types of commonly used bent plates for two types of mandible defect cases, using three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). We compare the stability of plastically deformed plates with customized plates having the same shape, but not the residual stresses from plastic deformation. The results indicate that while the bearing strength of the bent plate is sufficient, there is much higher stress in the plate due to the residual stresses from the bending process that may significantly decrease the safety of the reconstruction surgery.

Automatic segmentation and user-friendly software techniques for virtual surgical planning of mandibular reconstruction.

Compared to conventional mandibular reconstruction surgery, a recent approach of virtual planning can reduce surgical time providing reliable surgical outcomes. We present our virtual surgical planning software using automatic segmentation and user-friendly techniques. Evaluation experiments compared with a commercial software prove that the proposed software can achieve successful surgical planning in reduced time with reliable accuracy.