The relationship between lateral meniscus shape and joint contact parameters in the
knee: a study using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative |
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Authors: | Kai Yu Zhang Angela E Kedgley Claire R Donoghue Daniel Rueckert Anthony MJ Bull |
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Institution: | 1.Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK;2.Department of Computing, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK |
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Abstract: | IntroductionThe meniscus has an important role in force transmission across the knee, but a
detailed three-dimensional (3D) morphometric shape analysis of the lateral
meniscus to elucidate subject-specific function has not been conducted. The aim of
this study was to perform 3D morphometric analyses of the lateral meniscus in
order to correlate shape variables with anthropometric parameters, thereby gaining
a better understanding of the relationship between lateral meniscus shape and its
load-bearing function.MethodsThe lateral meniscus (LM) was manually segmented from magnetic resonance images
randomly selected from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) non-exposed control
subcohort. A 3D statistical shape model (SSM) was constructed to extract the
principal morphological variations (PMV) of the lateral meniscus for 50 subjects
(25 male and 25 female). Correlations between the principal morphological
variations and anthropometric parameters were tested. Anthropometric parameters
that were selected included height, weight, body mass index (BMI), femoral condyle
width and axial rotation.ResultsThe first principal morphological variation (PMV) was found to correlate with
height (r = 0.569), weight (r = 0.647), BMI
(r = 0.376), and femoral condyle width (r = 0.622). The
third PMV was found to correlate with height (r = 0.406), weight
(r = 0.312), and femoral condyle width (r = 0.331). The
percentage of the tibial plateau covered by the lateral meniscus decreases as
anthropometric parameters relating to size of the subject increase. Furthermore,
when the size of the subject increases, the posterior and anterior horns become
proportionally longer and wider.ConclusionThe correlations discovered suggest that variations in meniscal shape can be at
least partially explained by the levels of loads transmitted across the knee on a
regular basis. Additionally, as the size of the subject increases and body weight
rises, the coverage percentage of the meniscus is reduced, suggesting that there
would be an increase in the load-bearing by the cartilage. However, this reduced
coverage percentage is compensated by the proportionally wider and longer meniscal
horn. |
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