Histology is still considered the gold standard method for the evaluation of soft tissues in the musculoskeletal field, thanks to the possibility of studying structures using different staining and high magnification microscopy. To overcome the intrinsic limits of this method, contrast enhanced microtomographic (CE- microCT) protocols are constantly evolving to allow 3D study of soft tissues. However, no standardized approaches are available, and many concerns exist about the alterations induced to the samples. microCT/histology protocols were explored on human tendons and menisci. To enhance contrast tissues for microCT scanning 1) examethyldisilazane drying 2) 2% phosphotungstic acid (PTA) in alcoholic solution exposition and 3) 2% PTA in aqueous solution exposition were performed; to observe PTA contrast progression, three exposition and scanning times were selected. microCT images were compared to histological slices obtained from the same samples, after rehydration protocols, or from adjacent tissues portion, stained with Picrosirius red to highlight the peculiar collagenic structures.Introduction
Method
Distal femoral osteotomy is an established successful procedure which can delay the progression of arthritis and the need for knee arthroplasty. The surgery, however, is complex and lengthy and consequently it is generally the preserve of highly experienced specialists and thus not widely offered. Patient specific instrumentation is known to reduce procedural complexity, time, and surgeons’ anxiety levels1 in proximal tibial osteotomy procedures. This study evaluated a novel patient specific distal femoral osteotomy procedure (Orthoscape, Bath, UK) which aimed to use custom-made implants and instrumentation to provide a precision correction while also simplifying the procedure so that more surgeons would be comfortable offering the procedure. Three patients (n=3) with early-stage knee arthritis presented with valgus malalignment, the source of which was predominantly located within the distal femur, rather than intraarticular. Using conventional techniques and instrumentation, distal femoral knee osteotomy cases typically require 1.5–2 hours surgery time. The use of bi-planar osteotomy cuts have been shown to improve intraoperative stability as well as bone healing times2. This normally also increases surgical complexity; however, multiple cutting slots can be easily incorporated into patient specific instrumentation.Abstract
Background
Presenting problem
High tibial osteotomy for knee realignment is effective at relieving symptoms of knee osteoarthritis but the operation is surgically challenging. A new personalised treatment with simpler surgery using pre-operatively planned measurements from computed tomography (CT) imaging and 3D-printed implants and instrumentation has been designed and is undergoing clinical trial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early clinical results of a preliminary pilot study evaluating the safety of this new personalised treatment. The single-centre prospective clinical trial is ongoing (IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli; IRB-0013355; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04574570), with recruitment completed and all patients having received the novel custom surgical treatment. To preserve the completeness of the trial reporting, only surgical aspects were evaluated in the present study. Specifically, the length of the implanted osteosynthesis screws was considered, being determined pre-operatively eliminating intraoperative measurements, and examined post-operatively (n=7) using CT image processing (ScanIP, Synopsys) and surface distance mapping. The surgical time, patient discharge date and ease of wound closure were recorded for all patients (n=25).Abstract
Objectives
Methods
Medial Knee Osteoarthritis (MKO) is associated with abnormal knee varism, this resulting in altered locomotion and abnormal loading at tibio-femoral condylar contacts. To prevent end-stage MKO, medial compartment decompression is selectively considered and, when required, executed via High Tibial Osteotomy (HTO). This is expected to restore normal knee alignment, load distribution and locomotion. In biomechanics, HTO efficacy may be investigated by a thorough analysis of the ground reaction forces (GRF), whose orientation with respect to patient-specific knee morphology should reflect knee misalignment. Although multi-instrumental assessments are feasible, a customized combination of medical imaging and gait analysis (GA), including GRF data, rarely is considered. The aim of this study was to report an original methodology merging Computed-Tomography (CT) with GA and GFR data in order to depict a realistic patient-specific representation of the knee loading status during motion before and after HTO. 25 MKO-affected patients were selected for HTO. All patients received pre-operative clinical scoring, and radiological/instrumental assessments; so far, these were also executed post-operatively at 6-month follow-up on 7 of these patients. State-of-the-art GA was performed during walking and more demanding motor tasks, like squatting, stair-climbing/descending, and chair-rising/sitting. An 8-camera motion capture system, combined with wireless electromyography, and force platforms for GRF tracking, was used together with an own established protocol. This marker-set was enlarged with 4 additional skin-based non-collinear markers, attached around the tibial-plateau rim. While still wearing these markers, all analyzed patients received full lower-limb X-ray in standing posture a CT scan of the knee in weight-bearing Subsequently, relevant DICOMs were segmented to reconstruct the morphological models of the proximal tibia and the additional reference markers, for a robust anatomical reference frame to be defined on the tibia. These marker trajectories during motion were then registered to the corresponding from CT-based 3D reconstruction. Relevant registration matrices then were used to report GRF data on the reconstructed tibial model. Intersection paths of GRF vectors with respect to the tibial-plateau plane were calculated, together with their centroids.Introduction and Objective
Materials and Methods
