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Anterior cruciate ligament strength. Can it be estimated by non-destructive testing?
L Nordsletten1, A K Aune, J E Madsen
1Institute for Surgical Research, Rikshospitalet, Orthopaedic Department, Ullevål Hospital, Oslo, Norway. lars.nordsletten@rh.uio.no
Abstract:
For structural and material bone strength, non-destructive tests exist, while no such tests have been developed for ligaments. In the present study we compared the geometry and bone mineral content (BMC) of the rat tibia with the tensile strength of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). A significant correlation was found between the mediolateral diameter of the tibial condyle and ACL load to failure (r=0.83). Calculating the area of the condyle as an ellipse increased this correlation to r=0.93. No significant correlation was found to BMC. If this correlation is also found in humans, the mediolateral tibial head diameter may be used to estimate the strength of the ACL non-destructively.