An experimental study on the relationship between the components and movement of the human knee using an android model - measurement of internal-external rotation and anterior-posterior tibial translation -

The purpose of this paper was the experimental analysis of the three-dimensional motion of the knee joint. For this purpose, we prepared an android model of the knee joint that consists of the femur, the tibia, and the ligaments. Android models of human joints are anatomical models composed of the minimum number of parts required for reproduction of human movement. We constructed a drive unit to make the knee android model extend automatically and measured the motion of the knee Android model during extension with a motion capture system. We compared the internal-external rotation and the anterior-posterior tibial translation of the knee Android model with those of the human knee. Results showed that the internal-external rotation of the knee Android model was similar to that of the human knee and that this motion is caused by the shape of the articular surfaces and the ligaments. However, screw-home movement did not occur in the knee Android model, likely due to relaxation of the ligament cords in the knee android model. On the other hand, the knee Android model could not reproduce the anterior-posterior translation of the human knee. This is possibly due to the lack of a meniscus in the knee Android model.