2025-04-30

Patient-specific design and biomechanical evaluation of a novel bipolar femoral hemi-knee prosthesis

Journal of Bionic Engineering

While total knee replacement is successful, hemiarthroplasty is necessary for some young, obese and active patients who are especially not suitable for uni-compartmental or total knee prostheses and also provides an opportunity for children with bone tumor. The design of hemiarthroplasty should be patient-specific to reduce contact stress and friction as well as instability, compared to a conventional hemi-knee prosthesis. A novel bipolar hemi-knee prosthesis with two flexion stages was introduced and developed according to a healthy male’s knee morphological profile. The motion mode of the bipolar hemi-knee prosthesis was observed through roentgenoscopy in vitro experiment, while the biomechanical properties in one gait cycle were evaluated though finite element simulation. The bipolar hemi-knee prosthesis was found to produce knee flexion at two stages through X-ray images, which included the first stage of motion from upright posture to a specified 60 degree flexion, and the second stage of motion subsequently to deep flexion. The finite element simulation results also showed that the designed hemi-knee prosthesis had an ability to reduce stresses on the joint contact surfaces. Therefore, it is possible for the bipolar hemi-knee prosthesis to provide better biotribological performances because it can reduce stresses and potentially wear on the opposing contacting surface during a gait cycle, providing a promising treatment strategy in future joint repair and replacement.

Q Lian, DC Li, ZM Jin, etc

No

2014-03-03