Postoperative mediolateral fine-tuning of tibial implant for restoring perfect ligament balance: Proof-of-concept prototype

International audienceIn this paper, we present our results on the development of a new generation of instrumented knee implant. The proposed implant would allow for ligament imbalance monitoring and correction in addition to its use as a replacement of human knee joint. The custom-designed tibial component of this implant is equipped with an autonomous force distribution sensor and a millimetric actuating mechanism. The force distribution information measured by the sensor would allow the clinician to assess the ligament imbalance during a physical activity in the postoperative period. If any residual imbalance is detected, the clinician would fine-tune the mediolateral orientation of an actuating tibial tray relative to fixed tibial component. This millimetric fine-tuning of the implant's shape would allow the clinician to counteract any residual imbalance. In this case, the influence of variation between the intraoperative conditions during implant placement procedure (patient is in a supine position) and the postoperative conditions of implant functionality during daily life activities would be eliminated