Finite Element Analysis of Stress Distribution and Contact Pressure Variation in the Healthy and Osteoarthritis Human Knee Joints

Z. Trad, A. Barkaoui

Abstract: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common pathological conditions to affect the human knee joint. In order to evaluate the biomechanical causes and effects of OA, accessing the internal structures such as cartilage or menisci directly is not possible. Therefore, computational models can be used to study the effects of OA on the stress and strain progression within the knee. In this study, a 3D finite element knee model was developed using the substructures segmented from magnetic resonance images (MRI). Finally, a 3D model of the OA knee was created with a few changes to some components. An axial load of 800N was applied in the knee center in order to analyze the stress distribution in the knee joint in full extension. It was shown that the medial region of cartilage and menisci in the knee joint sustain higher values of stress for OA conditions, while for the healthy knee, the stresses are more evenly distributed across the cartilage in the medial and lateral regions. The FE modelling approach presented in this study explored the way in which the OA is generated due to cartilage degeneration. The results show that OA begins in the medial compartment of the joint.

Series on Biomechanics, Vol.36 No.2 (2022), 18-27
DOI: 10.7546/SB.36.2022.02.02

Keywords: articular cartilage; biomechanics; contact pressure; Finite Element Analysis; knee joint; osteoarthritis

Date published: 2022-06-17