Contact areas of the tibiotalar joint

The contact areas between the articular surfaces of the talus and tibia are essential for understanding the mobility of the ankle joint. The purpose of our study was to reveal the contact area among the superior articular surface of the trochlea tali (target surface T) and the inferior articular surface of the tibia (query surface Q) under non-weight-bearing conditions in plantar flexion and dorsiflexion. Twenty cadaveric foot specimens were dissected and scanned by a three-dimensional (3D) laser scanner to obtain data point sets. These point sets were triangulated and a registration procedure performed to avoid any intersection of the two joint surfaces. For all points of the query surface Q, the closest distance to T was measured. In 11 of the 20 ankle joints, the contact area was larger in plantar flexion, in 5 it was nearly of equal size, and in 4 the two surfaces were found in a better congruence in dorsiflexion. The two articular surfaces can be in point or line contact and cause different motions while T is gliding on Q, so the original geometry of ligaments must be carefully reconstructed after injury or during total ankle replacement.