Development of knee joint finite element analysis model considering ligament geometry and material properties

This work proposes a method for creating a finite element model (FEM) of knee joints considering the ligament geometry and material properties. Experiments were conducted to obtain the material properties of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) through a tensile test while the geometry were extracted from MRIs using image segmentation. The geometry and material properties measured were imported into a FEM. Simulating drawer motions with the FEM showed that the load-displacement characteristics of both the ACL and PCL were consistent with those of previous studies, with a maximum difference of 7.4 N. This work aims at using this method for assessing knee joint ligament damage risk.