Three dimensional patient-specific collagen architecture modulates cartilage responses in the knee joint during gait

Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 2016;19(11):1225-40. doi: 10.1080/10255842.2015.1124269. Epub 2015 Dec 30.

Abstract

Site-specific variation of collagen fibril orientations can affect cartilage stresses in knee joints. However, this has not been confirmed by 3-D analyses. Therefore, we present a novel method for evaluation of the effect of patient-specific collagen architecture on time-dependent mechanical responses of knee joint cartilage during gait. 3-D finite element (FE) models of a human knee joint were created with the collagen architectures obtained from T2 mapped MRI (patient-specific model) and from literature (literature model). The effect of accuracy of the implementation of collagen fibril architecture into the model was examined by using a submodel with denser FE mesh. Compared to the literature model, fibril strains and maximum principal stresses were reduced especially in the superficial/middle regions of medial tibial cartilage in the patient-specific model after the loading response of gait (up to -413 and -26%, respectively). Compared to the more coarsely meshed joint model, the patient-specific submodel demonstrated similar strain and stress distributions but increased values particularly in the superficial cartilage regions (especially stresses increased >60%). The results demonstrate that implementation of subject-specific collagen architecture of cartilage in 3-D modulates location- and time-dependent mechanical responses of human knee joint cartilage. Submodeling with more accurate implementation of collagen fibril architecture alters cartilage stresses particularly in the superficial/middle tissue.

Keywords: Articular cartilage; collagen architecture; finite element analysis; knee joint; magnetic resonance imaging; submodeling.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cartilage, Articular / physiology*
  • Collagen / metabolism*
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Gait / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional*
  • Knee Joint / physiology*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Porosity
  • Stress, Mechanical

Substances

  • Collagen