The mean anatomical shape of the tibial plateau at the knee arthroplasty resection level: An investigation using MRI

Hartel, Maximilian J.; Loosli, Yannick; Gralla, Jan; Kohl, Sandro; Hoppe, Sven; Röder, Christoph; Eggli, Stefan

doi:10.1016/j.knee.2009.04.011

« Previous Next »The Knee
Volume 16, Issue 6 , Pages 452-457, December 2009

The mean anatomical shape of the tibial plateau at the knee arthroplasty resection level: An investigation using MRI

Maximilian J. Hartel
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Insel Hospital, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
Yannick Loosli
- Dr. h.c. Robert Mathys Foundation, Bettlach, Switzerland
Jan Gralla
- Institute for Diagnostic, Interventional and Pediatric Radiology, Insel Hospital, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
Sandro Kohl
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Insel Hospital, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
- Dr. h.c. Robert Mathys Foundation, Bettlach, Switzerland
Sven Hoppe
- AO Research Institute, Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Program, Davos, Switzerland
Christoph Röder
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Insel Hospital, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
- MEM Research Center, Institute for Evaluative Research in Orthopedic Surgery, Bern, Switzerland
- Corresponding author. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Insel Hospital, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 31 632 22 13; fax: +41 31 632 18 80.
Stefan Eggli
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Insel Hospital, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland

Received 21 December 2008; received in revised form 23 April 2009; accepted 24 April 2009. published online 22 May 2009.

Abstract

Clinical assessments after Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) show persisting pain after implantation in over 20% of patients. Impingement of soft tissue around the knee, due to imprecise geometry of the tibial implant, can be one reason for persisting ailment. Two hundred and thirty seven MRI scans were evaluated using an active contour detection algorithm (snake) to obtain a high-resolution mean anatomical shape of the tibial plateau. Differences between female and male, older and younger (≤40/>40) and left and right averaged shapes were determined. The shapes obtained were asymmetric throughout. Absolute differences between the subgroups fell short of inter-individual variations represented by calculated one-σ confidence intervals. Our results indicate that a differentiation in TKA tibial plateau design by gender, age, or side is of minor relevance.