Computational evaluation of altered biomechanics related to articular cartilage lesions observed in vivo

: Katariina A. H. Myller, Rami K. Korhonen, Juha Töyräs, Jari Salo, Jukka S. Jurvelin, Mikko S. Venäläinen

Publisher: WILEY

: 2019

: Journal of Orthopaedic Research

: JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH

: J ORTHOP RES

: 37

: 5

: 1042

: 1051

: 10

: 0736-0266

: 1554-527X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.24273

Chondral lesions provide a potential risk factor for development of osteoarthritis. Despite the variety of in vitro studies on lesion degeneration, in vivo studies that evaluate relation between lesion characteristics and the risk for the possible progression of OA are lacking. Here, we aimed to characterize different lesions and quantify biomechanical responses experienced by surrounding cartilage tissue. We generated computational knee joint models with nine chondral injuries based on clinical in vivo arthrographic computed tomography images. Finite element models with fibril-reinforced poro(visco)elastic cartilage and menisci were constructed to simulate physiological loading. Systematically, the lesions experienced increased peak values of maximum principal strain, maximum shear strain, and minimum principal strain in the surrounding chondral tissue (p < 0.01) compared with intact tissue. Depth, volume, and area of the lesion correlated with the maximum shear strain (p < 0.05, Spearman rank correlation coefficient rho = 0.733-0.917). Depth and volume of the lesion correlated also with the maximum principal strain (p < 0.05, rho = 0.767, and rho = 0.717, respectively). However, the lesion area had non-significant correlation with this strain parameter (p = 0.06, rho = 0.65). Potentially, the introduced approach could be developed for clinical evaluation of biomechanical risks of a chondral lesion and planning an intervention.