抄録
The present paper is concerned with a mathematical model analysis of the femoropatellar joint in human knee, taking into accunt the articular surface geometry and the mechanical properties of ligament and muscle.
Study on load bearing characteristics of human knee joint is one of the main subjects awaiting solution in orthopaedic surgery, and various experimental research works are having been performed in relative fields.
Notwithstanding the above, such characteristics have not been elucidated yet, because we can scarcely obtain fragmentary results, in actual fact, considering the difficulties in circumspect experimental works.
On the other hand, we may say that the composing a mathematical model of knee joint is effectual for quantitative analysis in respect that any arbitrary conditions can be settled upon easy by parametric alteration of input data, and various results can be inferred successively through mathematical model analysis.
The author has already deduced the curved surface equation to express the entire femorotibial articular surfaces mathematically through the application of computer aided designing theory.
In the present study, besides the similar equation was adopted to femoropatellar articular surfaces, a three-dimensional model of the relevant joint was composed, taking into account the mechanical properties of ligament and muscle. Then, the contact points trajectries between femoropatellar surfaces, the three-dimensional behavior of patella, and the like were tracked, according as the knee flection proceeds.
