A sequentially-defined stiffness model of the knee

A new procedure is proposed to obtain a stiffness model of the knee, i.e. a model of the joint when static external loads are applied to the tibia and femur. A sequential approach is used to generalise a kinematic model of the passive motion of the articulation previously presented by the authors. The procedure is devised in such a way that the restraining function of the articular components which guide the passive motion of the joint is preserved after generalisation. As a result, the new stiffness model can replicate the passive motion with the same accuracy as the previous kinematic model, and it can also replicate the relative motion of the tibia and femur when the knee is loaded by static external loads. The proposed procedure is applied to a specimen and the relevant stiffness model is devised. The motion of the model under several loading conditions is then compared with the original motion of the specimen and with data obtained from the literature, in order to show the accuracy of the model and the potential of the proposed procedure.

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► A stiffness model of the knee is defined.
► A previous kinematic model based on parallel mechanisms is generalised.
► The new model replicates the knee passive motion with the same accuracy as the previous kinematic model.
► The new model can also replicate the knee behaviour when static external loads are applied to the joint.