The Study of Menisci Effect on Tibio-femoral Kinematics in a Computational Knee Joint

The menisci are important knee structures that are often ignored in computational models of the knee. Previous work on this project has shown that representation of the menisci significantly reduces the contact forces and pressures on the articulating surfaces of the tibia and femur [1]. The purpose of this study was to examine the significance of the menisci on tibio-femoral kinematics. Improvements were made to a previously developed multi-body model of the meniscus by dividing meniscus geometries into smaller pieces in the circumferential direction. The effects of the menisci on knee kinematics were then examined by inserting the menisci models into a validated dynamic 3-D computational model of a knee loaded in a dynamic knee simulator (Kansas Knee Simulator, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS). The predicted tibiafemur kinematics of the knee model with (w) menisci and without (wo) menisci were compared to experimental data during simulated squat and walking profiles.