Validation of a novel method for quantifying and comparing regional ACL elongations during uniaxial tensile loading

Given the complex three-dimensional (3D) knee joint loading associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, accurate site- and bundle-specific strain measurements are critical. The purpose of this study was to quantify tensile load-induced migrations of radio-opaque markers injected directly into the ACL, as a first step in validating a roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis-based method for measuring ligament strain. Small markers were inserted into the femur and tibia, as well as injected into the antero-medial bundle of the ACL of eight (42-56 yrs) femur-ACL-tibia complexes (FATCs). The FATCs were then loaded under tension along the ligament's longitudinal axis by a material testing machine from 10 N to 50 N, 100 N, 125 N, and 150 N, each over 10 load-unload cycles. Complexes were imaged before the loading protocol, between each loading sequence, and after the protocol via biplane radiography. Marker migrations within the ACL tissue were quantified as the difference in their 3D positions between the pre- and each post-loading condition. Negligible migration was evident, with the lowest average root mean square values observed along the longitudinal axis of the ACL, ranging from 0.128 to 0.219 mm. Further, neither marker location nor load magnitude significantly affected migration values. This innovative method, therefore, presents as a plausible means to measure global and regional ACL strains, as small as 0.75% strain. In particular, it may provide important new insights in ACL strain behaviors during complex 3D knee load states associated with ligament injury.