Development of the Force Detecting Liner for Total Knee Arthroplasty

With the increase in the prevalence of knee arthritis, the market for liners with force detection devices has expanded. The force detection device assists the doctor to adjust the installation position angle of the prosthesis liner during the operation. Pressure sensors are made of flexible materials, which are attractive for use in force detection due to their high sensitivity, fast response time, and low cost. Here, the pressure-sensing device with bendable and disposable flexible sensor arrays for force detection is fabricated. The spatial resolution of force detection is greatly improved by designing the sensor array layout through finite-element simulation. The device also achieves synchronous dynamic monitoring of axial stress and tangential stress inside the knee joint, filling in the research gap of tangential stress inside the knee joint. The pressure sensors offer a dynamically stable, wide range, high sensitivity, and great consistency avenue for knee arthroplasty.

Automated summary

With the increasing prevalence of knee arthritis, the market for liners with force detection devices has expanded. In this study, a pressure-sensing device with bendable and disposable flexible sensor arrays was developed for force detection during knee arthroplasty. The device not only improves the spatial resolution of force detection through layout design, but also enables synchronous monitoring of axial and tangential stress inside the knee joint, filling in the research gap of tangential stress. The pressure sensors offer a stable, wide range, highly sensitive, and consistent avenue for knee arthroplasty.