The best treatment method of large acetabular bone defects at revision THR remains controversial. Some of the factors that need consideration are the amount of residual pelvic bone removed during revision; the contact area between the residual pelvic bone and the new implant; and the influence of the new acetabular construct on the centre of rotation of the hip. The purpose of this study was to compare these variables in two of the most used surgical techniques used to reconstruct severe acetabular defects: the trabecular metal acetabular revision system (TMARS) and a custom triflanged acetabular component (CTAC).

Pre- and post-operative CT-scans were acquired from 11 patients who underwent revision THR with a TMARS construct for a Paprosky IIIB defect, 10 with pelvic discontinuity, at Royal Adelaide Hospital. The CT scans were used to generate computer models to virtually compare the TMARS and CTAC constructs using a semi-automated method. The TMARS construct model was calculated using postoperative CT scans while the CTAC constructs using the preoperative CT scans. The bone contact, centre of rotation, inclination, anteversion and reamed bone differences were calculated for both models.

There was a significant difference in the mean amount of bone reamed for the TMARS reconstructions (15,997 mm³) compared to the CTAC reconstructions (2292 mm³, p>0.01). There was no significant difference between overall implant bone contact (TMARS 5760mm² vs CTAC 5447mm², p=0.63). However, there was a significant difference for both cancellous (TMARS 4966mm² vs CTAC 2887mm², p=0.008) and cortical bone contact (TMARS 795mm² vs CTAC 2560mm², p=0.001). There was no difference in inclination and anteversion achieved. TMARS constructs resulted on average in a centre of rotations 7.4mm more lateral and 4.0mm more posterior.

Modelling of two different reconstructions of Paprosky IIIB defects demonstrated potential important differences between all variables investigated.

Dual mobility hip arthroplasty utilizes a freely rotating polyethylene liner to protect against dislocation. As liner motion has not been confirmed in vivo, we investigated the liner kinematics in vivo using dynamic radiostereometry.

16 patients with Anatomical Dual Mobility acetabular components were included. Markers were implanted in the liners using a drill guide. Static RSA recordings and patient reported outcome measures were obtained at post-op and 1-year follow-up. Dynamic RSA recordings were obtained at 1-year follow-up during a passive hip movement: abduction/external rotation, adduction/internal rotation (modified FABER-FADIR), to end-range and at 45° hip flexion. Liner- and neck movements were described as anteversion, inclination and rotation.

Liner movement during modified FABER-FADIR was detected in 12 of 16 patients. Median (range) absolute liner movements were: anteversion 10° (5–20), inclination 6° (2–12), and rotation 11° (5–48) relative to the cup. Median absolute changes in the resulting liner/neck angle (small articulation) was 28° (12–46) and liner/cup angle (larger articulation) was 6° (4–21). Static RSA showed changes in median (range) liner anteversion from 7° (-12–23) postoperatively to 10° (-3–16) at 1-year follow-up and inclination from 42 (35–66) postoperatively to 59 (46–80) at 1-year follow-up. Liner/neck contact was associated with high initial liner anteversion (p=0.01).

The polyethylene liner moves over time. One year after surgery the liner can move with or without liner/neck contact. The majority of movement is in the smaller articulation between head and liner.

Objectives

To validate the precision of digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR) radiostereometric analysis (RSA) and the model-based method (MBM) RSA with respect to benchmark marker-based (MM) RSA for evaluation of kinematics in the native hip joint.

Introduction

Measuring the step off during total knee replacement (TKR) is a newly developed operative strategy (“spacer technique”; Heesterbeek et al, KSSTA 2014;22(3):650–9) to determine the optimal contact point (CP) of the femur with the tibia postoperative and to balance the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in cruciate-retaining TKR. Engineers have calculated the ideal step off for every size of the TKR, for which the tibiofemoral contact point in 90° will be at the designed position. With this study we determined the postoperative CP in CR-TKA and investigated whether (adverse) clinical outcome was correlated with the CP.

Summary

In this study we validate that weight-bearing images are needed for accurate polyethylene liner wear measurement in total knee prostheses by measuring the difference in minimum joint space width between weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing RSA views.

Purpose of study

To investigate the linear penetration rate of the polyethylene bearing in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty at twenty years.

Introduction: Approximately 20% of unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) revisions are related to polyethylene wear. The Phase 1 Oxford UKR was introduced as a design against wear, with a fully congruent mobile bearing. The Phase 2 implant was introduced with new instrumentation (femoral mill) and changes to the bearing shape (lower anterior wall) to reduce the incidence of anterior impingement. We have previously shown that the Oxford UKR has a wear rate of 0.02 mm/year at ten years, in well functioning devices, but that higher wear rates can be seen with impingement or if the congruous articulation is lost. The aim of this study was to determine the 20 year in-vivo wear of the Oxford Phase 1 and Phase 2 UKR, using Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis (RSA).

Method: We measured the in-vivo wear of 6 Phase 1 (5 patients, mean age 65.24 years) and 7 Phase 2 (4 patients, mean age 63.43) Oxford UKR bearings. Average time since surgery was 22.37 years and 19.46 years for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 implants respectively. Selection criteria included patients who were mobile, with an exercise tolerance greater than 100m as per the American Knee Society Score (AKSS) functional questionnaire. RSA x-rays were taken with the knee in the normal anatomical position on standing and with the knee flexed to 30o. The Oxford knee score (OKS) and AKSS were gained at the RSA examination. Phase 1 and 2 components were reverse engineered by laser scanning, and converted to CAD models. The CAD models of the tibia and femur were pose-estimated in the RSA software (Medis Specials, Leiden, Netherlands). A sphere was fit to the femoral component and the minimum bearing thickness was determined by measuring the shortest perpendicular distance between the sphere and the plane contained on the tibial tray articular surface. The linear wear for each bearing was calculated by subtracting the measured thickness from the corrected nominal bearing thickness. Non-parametric statistics were used to compare the two Phases.

Results: There was no significant difference in age, OKS and AKSS between the two groups. The median wear rate was 0.078 mm/year for Phase 1 and 0.023 mm/year for Phase 2. This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.027).

Discussion: The difference in wear rate is explained by impingement in Phase 1, which was reduced by design changes with the introduction of Phase 2; the Phase 2 is designed to avoid impingement between the femur and the bearing. This study demonstrates that very low wear rates can be maintained with the Phase 2 implant to the end of the second decade after implantation. This is of particular importance when the device is used in younger patients and demonstrates that the Oxford UKR can be a definitive implant for the treatment of isolated compartmental osteoarthritis.

Introduction: Cementless press-fit cups are the most widely used acetabular implants in total hip arthroplasty today. Their primary and secondary stability is largely determined by the design and choice of surface coating. Porous titanium coatings are used for the majority of cementless acetabular implants. However, an additional hydroxyapatite (HA) layer has been advocated for superior bone ongrowth. We studied the effect of additional HA coating on early micromotion of a porous titanium plasmasprayed cup with a flattened pole. A secondary objective was to compare the extent of micromotion of this well established cementless cup to data of other press-fit cups.

Methods: A total of 44 female patients (45 hips) undergoing total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis consented to participate in this prospective, IRB approved study. They were randomized for either a press-fit cup (EP-FIT PLUS^®, Plus Orthopedics AG, Switzerland) with a titanium plasma sprayed surface (Ti-group) or with additional HA coating (HA -group). All cups were used with the same combination of stem, PE liner and ceramic head. Model-based radiostereometry (MBRSA) was used to measure translation and rotation immediately postoperative, at 6 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months. Statistical analysis of migration was performed utilizing one-sided Mann-Whitney tests and ANOVA.

Results: At one year, mean translation in the HA-group (Ti-group) along the medial-lateral (x), proximal-distal (y) and anterior-posterior (z) axes was −0.01 (0.07), 0.08 (0.09), and 0.03 (−0.06) mm, respectively. Mean rotation around the x-axis (anterior-posterior tilt) was −0.19 (−0.16), the y-axis (anteversion-retroversion) was −0.10 (−0.19), and the zaxis (adduction-abduction) was 0.23 (−0.05) degrees. Our hypothesis that translation and rotation would be different in the two groups was rejected (p< 0.00) for all dimensions except for rotation about the z-axis (p=0.10). The was no evidence for different migration patterns throughout the examined time points. All patients had excellent clinical outcome with a mean Harris Hip Score of 95.4 (HA-group) and 95.3 (Ti-group) (p=0.10). Plain radiographs of the cups showed good osseointegration.

Discussion: With excellent primary stability in both the Ti-group and the HA-group, we conclude, that HA-coating does not significantly increase stability of this flattened pole press-fit cup during the first postoperative year. We were able to show that the early stability of this cup is well comparable to that of the more frequently used hemispherical cups with initial stability being one prerequisite for long-term success. RSA measurements after 2 years will be conducted to confirm the current findings and the cup is also being studied in a long-term observation.

The most widely accepted method to measure kneekinematics is using external movement registration with the aid of skin-mounted markers. However, a large error component appears due to skin movement relative to the underlying bone. The goal of this study is to use fluoroscopy to quantify skin movement artefacts in patients with a total knee prosthesis during a step-up task.

The most widely accepted method to measure knee kinematics is using external movement registration with the aid of skin-mounted markers. However, a large error component appears due to skin movement relative to the underlying bone. The goal of this study is to use fluoroscopy to quantify skin movement artefacts in patients with a total knee prosthesis during a step-up task.

Translational and rotational errors attributed to soft tissue movement were three times larger for the femur than for the tibia about allaxes. The mean of the absolute rotational differences for the femur were2.6, 3.3 and 1.7 degrees about the X, Y and Z axes respectively. Absolute peak differences for individual subjects were 9.1, 12.9 and 10.5 mm along the X, Y and Z axes respectively.

This is the first study examining the 3D relative motion between surface-mounted and bone-anchored markers without the use of cortical pins anchored to the tibia and/or the femur. The results revealed no regular pattern of soft tissue error between subjects indicating the unlikely success of numerical methods for modeling and removing soft tissue motion artifacts when using standard motion capture methods.

Model-based Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis (RSA) measures micromotion of an orthopaedic implant with respect to its surrounding bone, without the use of markers on the implant. In previous studies with a total knee prosthesis, Model-based RSA showed to be very accurate. In this study, Model-based RSA is validated in a phantom experiment of a total hip prosthesis.

A metal backed, elliptical shaped EP-FIT PLUS ®cup was used in combination with a SL-PLUS ® hip-stem from PLUS Endoprothetik AG. In vivo conditions were simulated by using sawbones and perspex plates to mimic the bones and soft tissue. Virtual projections of the CAD models of the implant were fitted on the automatically detected contours in nine RSA radiographs and the error inmigration calculation was determined.

The standard deviations of the error in translation for the cup were: 0.03, 0.05, and 0.21 mm. (x, y, z-direction) The standard deviations of the error in orientation were respectively 0.56, 0.48, and 0.18 degrees (n = 10). For the stem, the standard deviations of the error in translation are: 0.09, 0.11, and 0.29 mm and for the orientation: 0.63, 2.03, and 0.24 degrees (n = 0).

The results for the cup are satisfactory, and make Model-based RSA a good alternative for conventional RSA. Especially for this type of metal backed, non hemispherical cup for which no markerless alternative is available. The error in orientation around the y-axis of the stem is of concern. Experiments with models from Reversed Engineering had similar low accuracy. We expect that the cause of these inaccuracies is the rectangular cross sectional shape of this specific hip stem, and we expect better results from experiments with differently shaped stems. The results of this study make very clear that Model-based RSA is avaluable and accurate technique, but phantom studies are always necessary to validate the accuracy for a specific implant shape.

Outcome measures must be valid, reliable and responsive to change criteria. The most common clinical outcome measures are Knee Society Scores, SF-36 quality of life scores, HAQ and DAS scores. However, performance based measures of functioning may not be dependent on patient report or observer judgment.

Examples of objective pre- and post-operative performance outcome measures are surface Electromyography (EMG) of muscles, kinematics and kinetics (gait analysis). For the evaluation of implant survival after joint arthroplasty, Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis (RSA) is the golden standard to assess micro-motion of the implants.

Surface EMG can be used to asses the stability of joints before and after intervention. Calibrating of raw EMG data is necessary to compare the data between subjects. It was shown that calibration of EMG data by means of isokinetic contractions on a dynamometer during flexion and extension was more reliable and repeatable than using a Maximum Voluntary Contraction in patients after total knee arthroplasty. After total knee arthroplasty RA patients have a lower net knee joint moment and a higher co-contraction than controls, indicating avoidance of net joint load and an active stabilization of the knee joint.

Fluoroscopy can be used to assess the kinematics of joints. In the pre-operative situation the use of CT models of the involved bones can be matched to the assessed fluoroscopic images. In the post-operative situation CAD models of the implants can be used for this purpose. In this way accurate 3D kinematics of joints can be assessed. During a step-up task of RA patients, the rotating platform of a mobile bearing knee showed no- or far less longitudinal rotation than the femur. Therefore, some of the theoretical advantages of this specific rotating platform knee prosthesis can be questioned. Fluoroscopy has also been used to assess soft tissue artifacts that occur in gait analysis i.e. displacements of skin-mounted markers relative to the underlying bone. The large soft tissue artefacts observed (displacements up to 17 mm and 12 degrees) question the usefulness of parameters found with external movement registration.

In order to assess the micromotion of implants after joint arthroplasty a measurement technique with a much higher accuracy than fluoroscopy is needed. RSA uses tantalum markers as landmarks bony structures and as landmarks on the implant. Recently a new RSA technique has been developed that does not rely on the attachment of artificial markers on the implant but uses CAD models of the implant instead. As an example of RSA as outcome measure, results showed that a calciumphosphate coating improves fixation of tibial components in RA patients, thus preventing mechanical loosening and subsequent long-term revision. In another clinical RSA study, it was found that mobile bearing knees are more predictable and forgiving with respect to micromotion compared to posterior stabilized tibial components in RA patients.

The results obtained by the above described performance outcome measures can be valued since the accuracy and precision of the used outcome measures are all published.

Early micromotion of joint prostheses with respect to the bone can be assessed very accurately by a method called Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis (RSA); a method that uses two simultaneous X-ray exposures of the joint and has an accuracy of 0.1 mm for translations and 0.3 degree for rotations [1]. In order to reach this accuracy, metallic markers are inserted into the bone and attached to the surface of the prosthesis. These markers can then be identified automatically in the two radiographs [2]. Since the adjustments to the prosthesis are difficult, time-consuming and expensive, RSA has only been applied in a limited number of clinical trials.

In a previous study we have developed a Model-based RSA algorithm, which does not require the attachment of markers to the prosthesis [3]. This algorithm is based on minimisation of the non-overlapping area (NOA) between the automatically detected contour of the prosthesis from the roentgen image, with the virtually projected contour of a three-dimensional model of the prosthesis.

Because the accuracy of this NOA algorithm was not as high as the accuracy of the currently used Marker-based RSA, we have studied alternative algorithms for Model-based RSA. From a simulation study in which we used models of the Interax Total Knee Prosthesis (Stryker-Howmedica) and the G2 Hip Prosthesis (Johnson & John-son), we found that the results of the NOA algorithm can be improved substantially. The newly developed Model-based RSA algorithm is based on minimisation of the mean distance between the points of the actual contour and the virtually projected contour. The simulation study shows that the new algorithm is superior to the NOA-algorithm in situations where part of the contour is occluded, as well as in situations where the contour is distorted by noise. With the new algorithm, the residual position error can be reduced to 0.1 mm. and also the residual orientation error can be reduced to 0.3 degree, making Model-based RSA a future alternative to Marker-based RSA.

To measure micromotion of an orthopaedic implant with respect to its surrounding bone, Roentgen Stereo-photogrammetric Analysis (RSA) was developed. A disadvantage of conventional RSA is that it requires the implant to be marked with tantalum beads. This disadvantage can potentially be resolved with model-based RSA, whereby a 3D model of the implant is used for matching with the actual images and the assessment of position and rotation of the implant. In this study, an improved model-based RSA algorithm is presented and validated in phantom experiments. This algorithm is capable to process projection contours that contain drop-outs. To investigate the influence of the accuracy of the implant models that were used for model-based RSA, we studied both Computer Aided Design (CAD) models as well as models obtained by means of Reversed Engineering (RE) of the actual implant.

The results demonstrate that the RE-models provide more accurate results than the CAD models. If these RE models are derived from the very same implant, it is possible to achieve a maximum standard deviation of the error in the migration calculation of 0.06 mm for translations in x- and y-direction and 0.14 mm for the out of plane z-direction, respectively. For rotations about the y-axis, the standard deviation was about 0.1 degree and for rotations about the x- and z-axis 0.05 degree. For the femur component, it was also possible to reach these accurate results for non-scanned components. The results show that the new algorithm is an improvement with respect to a study we presented earlier [1].

Studies with clinical RSA-radiographs must prove that these results can also be reached in a clinical setting, making model-based RSA a possible alternative for marker-based RSA.