Newcastle University

Project Name

Cadaveric Modelling of the Appropriate Constrained Implant in Knee Replacement – Development of a Patient-Specific Surgical Tool

Dates

2011-2014

Project Collaborators

Prof. D.Deehan
Dr. M Ghosh
Mr L. Longstaff
Prof. A. Amis

Funders

Stryker, JREC

Project Description

Approximately 70,000 primary knee replacements are performed in the UK annually. Many studies confirm that despite improvements in implant design and surgeon training 15-20% of patients remain dissatisfied with the outcome of this complex surgical procedure. Of these 15% of patients many will experience one or a combination of key symptoms. These include restriction in knee movement, loss of confidence in the knee with reduced ability to safely negotiate stairs, get up from a seated position and persistent puffiness or swelling around the replacement artificial knee joint. These failures are believed to be related to poor interaction between the implanted new knee components and the existing soft tissue (tendon, ligaments, muscle strength) of the patient. As a consequent of continued desire to improve the outcome from such surgery, there are now a bewildering array of differing knee designs open to the surgeon but sadly little patient-specific guidance allowing for the correct matching of the implant to the individual knee. We have piloted work in Newcastle at the Freeman Surgical Training Centre which will allow for the first time the surgeon to accurately predict the behaviour of implanted knee for a particular patient through computer real time modelling. This work will allow for validation of this model and ultimately improve the performance of the artificial knee with improved symptom relief of the arthritic knee and longevity of the implant.