The Need

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is performed to relieve pain and disability associated with degenerative joint disease. Joint instability remains a leading cause of revision surgery following TKA. During the surgery, indicators of stability such as joint space are used to balance the knee. Many devices currently used to measure knee stability cannot be used intra-operatively because they are not sterilizable, are too large and heavy for an operating room, require too much time for setup and stability testing, and/or were designed for cadavers. To mitigate the risk of joint instability, a device must be developed that addresses these issues.

The Technology

Researchers at The Ohio State University, led by Dr. Robert Siston, developed a novel device to intra-operatively measure joint stability for TKA. This device helps surgeons accurately and repeatedly apply known loads intra-operatively for varus/valgus, internal/external, anterior/posterior stability tests at knee flexion angles between 0 and 90 degrees to assess knee stability.

Commercial Applications

• Orthopedic research
• Orthopedic medical devices

Benefits/Advantages

• Aid surgeons in soft tissue balancing
• Measure knee stability before making any bone cuts and after components are in place
• Allows surgeon to repeatedly and accurately apply known loads for knee stability flexion tests between angles 0 and 90 degrees
• Determine the relationship between intra-operative knee stability and post-operative function, which could lead to objective definition of a well balanced knee and more efficacious surgical techniques