Hip resurfacing is a bone sparing approach to treating arthritis in younger or more active patients. Accurate positioning of the femoral component in the hip resurfacing procedure is essential for the success of the operation [1-2]. An alignment guide assisting the operator in accurately positioning the resurfacing implant may increases the success rate of the operation. This study focuses on the effectiveness of a CT based resurfacing alignment guide, shown in Figure 1. Four full fresh frozen human cadaveric specimens were CT scanned to reconstruct bone models of the femoral head/neck geometries with no cartilage included in the segmentation. Femoral head resurfacing alignment guides were then created through computer aided design (CAD) modeling using landmarks from the reconstructed bone models for proper seating. A total of 12 resurfacing alignment guides (3 for each specimen) were prepared. After the exposure of the hip joints, the first two out of three resurfacing alignment guides were used to asses the fit, stability, and visual assessment of valgus and version alignments. The third resurfacing alignment guide for each specimen was placed on the femoral head/neck region and the guide wire was drilled into the femur. A fluoroscopy image was taken to assess and measure the valgus and version alignment. The acceptance criteria for valgus alignment, as shown in Figure 2, is set to be ±2.5° from a line parallel to the medial calcar of the femoral neck, Similarly, the acceptance criteria for the version alignment was set to be ±2.5° from a line passing through the neutral axis of the femoral neck.Introduction
Materials and Methods
Proper positioning of the components of a knee prosthesis for obtaining post-operative knee joint alignment is vital to obtain good and long term performance of a knee replacement. Although the reasons for failure of knee arthroplasty have not been studied in depth, the few studies that have been published claim that as much as 25% of knee replacement failures are related to malpositioning or malalignment [x]. The use of patient-matched cutting blocks is a recent development in orthopaedics. In contrast to the standard cutting blocks, they are designed to fit the individual anatomy based on 3D medical images. Thus, landmarks and reference axes can be identified with higher accuracy and precision. Moreover, stable positioning of the blocks with respect to the defined axes is easier to achieve. Both may contribute to better alignment of the components. The objective of this study was to check the accuracy of femoral component orientation in a cadaver study using specimen-matched cutting blocks in six specimens; first for a bi-compartmental replacement, and then for a tri-compartmental replacement in the same specimen. Frames with infrared reflective spherical markers were fixed to six cadaveric femurs and helical CT scans were made. A bone surface reconstruction was created and the relevant landmarks for describing alignment were marked using 3D visualisation software (Mimics). The centres of the spherical markers were also determined. Based on the geometry of the articular surface and the position of the landmarks, custom-made cutting blocks were designed. One cutting block was prepared to guide implantation of a bi-compartmental device and another one to guide implantation of the femoral component of a total knee replacement. The knee was opened and the custom-made cutting block for the bi-compartmental implant was seated onto the surface. The block was used to make the anterior cut, after which it was removed and replaced with the conventional cutting block using the same pinning holes to ensure the same axial rotational alignment. The other cuts were made using the conventional cutting block and the bi-compartmental femoral component was implanted. Afterwards, a similar procedure was used to make the extra cuts for the total knee component. The position of the components with respect to the reflective markers was measured by locating three reference points and “painting” the articular surface with a wand with reflective markers. The position of all marker spheres was continuously recorded with four infrared cameras and Nexus software.Purpose
Materials and Methods
