Low-velocity vehicle collisions can result in serious consequences to meniscectomized individuals: A biomechanical FE study

摘要

Low-velocity collision transmit inertial forces to the vehicle occupants that can inflict damage to the knee joint soft tissues. It is extremely difficult to determine if another acute injury or age-related degeneration is the reason behind the soft tissue damage or if the low-velocity vehicle collision caused the damage. The main objective of this study was to determine the biomechanical effects of a low-velocity collision in the medial meniscectomized knee joint. A 3D finite element model of the knee joint was developed based on the joint structures segmented from the MR images of a healthy subject. Mesh convergence and validation checks were performed on the developed FE model to ascertain the prediction is accurate and reliable. An axial compression load was applied on the knee joint at 72° flexion to mimic the force transmitted to the vehicle occupants due to low-velocity rear impact collision. The meniscectomized knee joint model at 72° flexion resulted in increased peak contact pressure in both the medial and the lateral compartments when compared to the fully extended knee (0° flexion). When the meniscectomized knee joint was subjected to a low-velocity collision, the total contact area on the medial tibial cartilage increased when compared to the fully extended knee. Flexed knee under low-velocity impact collision load the cartilage nodes with a higher magnitude of contact stresses, while these nodes in the fully extended knee were either not loaded or loaded with a low magnitude of contact stresses. The outcomes show that the contact mechanics of the articular cartilage are sensitive to the low-velocity impact collision and these results can be utilized to improve the safety features in vehicles.