Dissipated energy as a method to characterize the cartilage damage in large animal joints: an in vitro testing model

Several quantitative methods for the in vitro characterization of cartilage quality are available. However, only a few of these methods allow surgical cartilage manipulations and the subsequent analysis of the friction properties of complete joints. This study introduces an alternative approach to the characterization of the friction properties of entire joint surfaces using the dissipated energy during motion of the joint surfaces. Seven sheep wrist joints obtained post mortem were proximally and distally fixed to a material testing machine. With the exception of the carpometacarpal articulation surface, all joint articulations were fixed with 'Kirschner' wires. Three cartilage defects were simulated with a surgically introduced groove (16 mm(2), 32 mm(2), 300 mm(2)) and compared to intact cartilage without an artificial defect. The mean dissipated energy per cycle was calculated from the hysteresis curve during ten torsional motion cycles (±10°) under constant axial preload (100-900 N). A significant increase in dissipated energy was observed with increasing cartilage defect size and axial load (p<0.001). At lower load levels, the intact and 16 mm(2) defect showed a similar dissipated energy (p>0.073), while all other defect conditions were significantly different (p=0.015). All defect sizes were significantly different (p=0.049) at 900 N axial load. We conclude that the method introduced here could be an alternative for the study of cartilage damage, and further applications based on the principles of this method could be developed for the evaluation of different cartilage treatments.