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A feasibility study for evaluation of mechanical properties of articular cartilage with a two-electrode electrical impedance method

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Orthopaedic Science

Abstract

Background

Since articular cartilage has important mechanical properties such as load-bearing, shock absorption and lubrication for activities in daily life, it is important to evaluate the mechanical properties of repaired cartilage in terms of whether those properties are the same as those of natural cartilage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an electrical impedance method for quantitatively measuring the mechanical properties of cartilage.

Methods

Cartilage specimens were harvested from porcine knee joint, and two kinds of enzyme-treated cartilages were prepared to investigate the correlation between mechanical and electrical properties resulting from changes in the structure of the extracellular matrix. Collagenase solution and hyaluronidase solution were used to digest the collagen fibril and proteoglycan, respectively. Electrical impedance measurement, indentation test and biochemical analysis were carried out for the enzyme-treated cartilages.

Results

The water content increased with enzyme treatment time, and the permeability of the treated cartilages increased with decreasing glycosaminoglycan content for both types of enzyme-treated cartilages. The aggregate modulus and the electrical resistivity for both types of enzyme-treated cartilages decreased with increasing permeability after 12-h treatment. The aggregate modulus and the electrical resistivity for both types of treated cartilages decreased with increasing water content and permeability after 24-h treatment. The electrical resistivity and the aggregate modulus of articular cartilage depended not only on the water content, but also on the permeability, and the electrical resistivity for both types of enzyme-treated cartilages was found to be significantly linearly correlated with the aggregate modulus.

Conclusions

These results showed that the aggregate modulus of articular cartilage can be estimated by measuring its electrical impedance.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Naoya Nitta, Takashi Goto, and Yuya Sato for their assistance with data acquisition.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclosure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Doshisha University, 1-3 Tatara Miyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, 610-0394, Japan

    Yusuke Morita

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Osaka Institute of Technology, 5-16-1 Omiya, Asahi Ward, Osaka, Osaka, 535-8585, Japan

    Hideo Kondo

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Science, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Naohide Tomita

  4. Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Kawaharacho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    Yusuke Morita & Shigehiko Suzuki

Authors
  1. Yusuke Morita
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  2. Hideo Kondo
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  3. Naohide Tomita
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  4. Shigehiko Suzuki
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Correspondence to Yusuke Morita.

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Morita, Y., Kondo, H., Tomita, N. et al. A feasibility study for evaluation of mechanical properties of articular cartilage with a two-electrode electrical impedance method. J Orthop Sci 17, 272–280 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-012-0208-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-012-0208-x

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