The Effect of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury on the Biomechanical Behavior of Human Knee Joint

Abstract

Based on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, a 3-dimentional finite element model of knee joint was developed using the reverse modeling technology. The model includes bone, all the four main ligaments, menisci and cartilages with consideration of the transversely isotropic constitutive behavior of menisci and hyperelasticity of ligaments. The biomechanics of tibiofemoral joint under an anterior tibial force and a compression load with anterior force was analyzed at three cases: intact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), partially injured ACL and totally ruptured ACL. Our main goal was to quantitative analyze the effect of ACL injury on the biomechanics of other knee tissues.