“How would you like to grow old?” It is a question where any person
would answer: “As old a possible as long as there is a good quality
of life”. A major indicator for a good quality of life for elderly people is
mobility which is linked with, amongst other factors, the knee joint.
Many patients suffering with knee injuries eventually have to undergo
a total knee replacement (TKR) where a knee implant is placed.
Studies show that 1 in 5 patients is ill-satisfied with their knee implant
after the surgery especially when they walk down stairs. They
complain of instability of the knee joint. This project focuses on an invitro
study in a dynamic knee rig to investigate why this instability is
present during the descend of a staircase. In-vivo data from
fluoroscopy measurements in patients experiencing instability, will be
used to recreate the problem in a cadaver specimen. For this, a new
type of movable fluoroscope able to follow the descend of a stair, has
to be developed. Afterwards, a dynamic knee rig imposes the
descend of a stair case in the in-vitro study. Based on the captured
kinematics, possible solutions can be found in collaboration with the
orthopedic surgeons. The goal is to reduce the number of revision
surgeries after TKR and increase patient satisfaction.