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A combined robotic/universal force sensor approach to determine in situ forces of knee ligaments
T W Rudy1, G A Livesay, S L Woo
1Musculoskeletal Research Center Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Abstract:
We developed a system that uses a 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) robotic manipulator combined with a 6-DOF force-moment sensor and a control system. The system is used to find and record the passive knee flexion path for controlling the knee flexion positions. It is also used to strain a knee structure by finding a multiple-DOF path in response to specific joint loading, e.g. anterior-posterior tibial force application. It is additionally used to measure in-situ forces in ligaments by recording differences in forces and moments when repeating a prerecorded path, both before and after removal of the ligament of interest. Example applications are included in the study.