Automated Measurement of Patient-Specific Tibial Slopes from MRI

Multi-planar proximal tibial slopes may be associated with increased likelihood of osteoarthritis and anterior cruciate ligament injury, due in part to their role in checking the anterior-posterior stability of the knee. Established methods suffer repeatability limitations and lack computational efficiency for intuitive clinical adoption. The aims of this study were to develop a novel automated approach and to compare the repeatability and computational efficiency of the approach against previously established methods.

Tibial slope geometries were obtained via MRI and measured using an automated Matlab-based approach. Data were compared for repeatability and evaluated for computational efficiency.

Mean lateral tibial slope (LTS) for females (7.2°) was greater than for males (1.66°). Mean LTS in the lateral concavity zone was greater for females (7.8° for females, 4.2° for males). Mean medial tibial slope (MTS) for females was greater (9.3° vs. 4.6°). Along the medial concavity zone, female subjects demonstrated greater MTS.

The automated method was more repeatable and computationally efficient than previously identified methods and may aid in the clinical assessment of knee injury risk, inform surgical planning, and implant design efforts.