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Insertion of Small Diameter Radiopaque Tracking Beads into the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Results in Repeatable Strain Measurement Without Affecting the Material Properties

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Abstract

The characterization of ligamentous soft tissue properties is limited by a lack of measurement methods capable of minimally-invasively quantifying regional strain. Previous implementations of radiographic imaging and tissue-embedded radiopaque markers demonstrated promising regional strain measurements, but found error associated with non-repeatable bead positions within the tissue after load application. No study has investigated the effects of cyclic loading on the strains measured within the tissue. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of joint loading on strain measurement using radiopaque markers and micro-computed tomography imaging. Six cadaveric porcine femur-anterior cruciate ligament-tibia complexes were instrumented with small diameter (0.8 mm) zirconium dioxide marker beads. The compound was imaged at 10 N then at 100 N of anterior force using micro-computed tomography. The bead positions in the images were used to calculate tissue strain between the 10 and 100 N anterior joint load conditions. Up to 100 intermediate joint cycles were applied, then images were acquired again at 10 and 100 N anterior force. No statistically significant difference was found between the strains measured before and after intermediate cycling (p > 0.05). This indicates that tissue loading did not introduce statistically significant changes to strains measured in tissue tested following this methodology.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Mount Brydges Abattoir for their generous donation of all porcine specimens. They would also like to thank Jaques Milner for the centroiding software development, as well as Ivailo Petrov and Steven Pollmann for assistance with image analysis. Finally, the authors would like to acknowledge Smith and Nephew Inc. (A17-ASDUS-GR-598), the CIHR (Canadian Research Leaders in Musculoskeletal Health, PCS 150478) (Dynamic Imaging of Musculoskeletal Systems, FDN148474), the Ontario Research Fund (Research Excellence), ConMed Linvatec Inc (Canada Research Grant), and the Western Bone and Joint Institute for financial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Canada

    Alexandra M. Blokker

  2. Department of Surgery, Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic, Western University, London, Canada

    Alan Getgood

  3. Medical Sciences, Western University, London, Canada

    David Nguyen

  4. Department of Medical Biophysics, Department of Surgery, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Canada

    David W. Holdsworth

  5. Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Lawson Health Sciences Institute, Western University, 1151 Richmond Rd, London, ON, N6A 5B9, Canada

    Timothy A. Burkhart

Authors
  1. Alexandra M. Blokker
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  2. Alan Getgood
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  3. David Nguyen
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  4. David W. Holdsworth
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  5. Timothy A. Burkhart
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Correspondence to Timothy A. Burkhart.

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Associate Editor Peter E. McHugh oversaw the review of this article.

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Blokker, A.M., Getgood, A., Nguyen, D. et al. Insertion of Small Diameter Radiopaque Tracking Beads into the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Results in Repeatable Strain Measurement Without Affecting the Material Properties. Ann Biomed Eng 49, 98–105 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02511-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02511-2

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