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Biomedical subjects

K N An

Publications and source records attributed to K N An.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

Stabilising function of the biceps in stable and unstable shoulders.

We studied the contributions of the long and short heads of the biceps (LHB, SHB) to anterior stability in 13 cadaver shoulders. The LHB and SHB were replaced by spring devices and translation tests at 90 degrees abduction of the arm were performed by applying a 1.5 kg anterior force. The position of the humeral head was monitored by an electromagnetic tracking device with or without an anterior translational force; with 0 kg, 1.5 kg or 3 kg loads applied on either LHB or SHB tendons in 60 degrees, 90 degrees or 120 degrees of external rotation; and with the capsule intact, vented, or damaged by a Bankart lesion. The anterior displacement of the humeral head under 1.5 kg force was significantly decreased by both the LHB and SHB loading in all capsular conditions when the arm was in 60 degrees or 90 degrees of external rotation. At 120 degrees of external rotation, anterior displacement was significantly decreased by LHB and SHB loading only when there was a Bankart lesion. We conclude that LHB and SHB have similar functions as anterior stabilizers of the glenohumeral joint with the arm in abduction and external rotation, and that their role increases as shoulder stability decreases. Both heads of the biceps have been shown to have a stabilising function in resisting anterior head displacement, and consideration should therefore be given to strengthening the biceps during rehabilitation programmes for chronic anterior instability of the shoulder.

Analysis of Variance↗

Capsular properties of the shoulder.

The purpose of this study was to determine the structural properties of the capsule of the glenohumeral joint. Twelve fresh frozen cadaveric shoulders were studied. Capsular strips were prepared from four different sites (anterior, posterior, superior, and inferior) of the capsule. One end of the capsular sections was left attached to the humerus, and the other excised was fixed in a clamp of an Instron universal testing machine. Maximum load, strength (maximum stress), and modulus of elasticity of these four capsular portions were measured. The most common mode of failure was tear at the midsubstance (68%), followed by tear at the clamp-capsule junction (23%), and detachment from the humerus (9%). The posterior capsule (1.0 +/- 0.4 mm) was thinner than the anterior (1.8 +/- 0.3 mm), superior (1.6 +/- 0.4 mm), and inferior capsule (1.5 +/- 0.3 mm). Among the four portions of the capsule, the posterior capsule showed the greatest strength (216.6 +/- 58.2 kg/cm2) and modulus of elasticity (683.1 +/- 228.8 kg/cm2), whereas the superior capsule showed the least strength (82.4 +/- 33.5 kg/cm2). There were no significant differences in maximum load. The greater strength of the posterior capsule may be one explanation for the low incidence of posterior shoulder dislocation.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

Bulk effect of rotator cuff on inferior glenohumeral stability as function of scapular inclination angle: a cadaver study.

Eleven fresh cadaver shoulders were studied to determine the static contribution (bulk effect) of the rotator cuff on inferior glenohumeral stability provided by scapular inclination. All musculature, including the rotator cuff, was removed. The position of the humerus relative to the scapula was recorded using an electromagnetic tracking device under conditions of no force and 1.5 kg of inferior translation force applied to the humerus, with the arm in the hanging position (sulcus test) and then in 90 degrees abduction (Abduction-Inferior Stability test = ABIS test), with the scapula inclined referable to the vertical line at -15 degrees, 0 degrees, 15 degrees and 30 degrees in the sulcus test and at 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees and 60 degrees in the ABIS test. In the sulcus test without load, all shoulders dislocated at scapular inclination angles of -15 degrees and 0 degrees, whereas no shoulders dislocated at 30 degrees. The angle of scapular inclination had a significant effect on humeral head positions (p < 0.0001), with the head position at -15 degrees and 0 degree being lower than at 15 degrees, which was lower than at 30 degrees. In the ABIS test, none of the shoulders dislocated, although the effect of the angle of scapular inclination was significant (p < 0.0001), with the position of the humeral head being higher at 15 degrees than at other angles of inclination. Comparison of these data and previously reported data with the cuff intact showed no significant effect of rotator cuff removal on humeral head position and displacement in both tests. Therefore, we conclude that the static condition of the rotator cuff has no significant effect on the stabilizing function of scapular inclination. The stabilizing mechanism of scapular inclination seems to be associated with the bony configuration and/or anatomy and biomechanical properties of the superior capsuloligamentous structures.

Adult↗

Comparison of tibiofemoral joint forces during open-kinetic-chain and closed-kinetic-chain exercises.

The purpose of this study was to analyze forces at the tibiofemoral joint during open and closed-kinetic-chain exercises. Five healthy subjects performed maximum isometric contractions at 30, 60, and 90 degrees of knee flexion during open-kinetic-chain extension, open-kinetic-chain flexion, and closed-kinetic-chain exercises. Electromyographic activity of the quadriceps and hamstrings, as well as load and torque-cell data, were recorded. Tibiofemoral shear and compression forces were calculated with use of a two-dimensional biomechanical model. The results showed that, during the open-kinetic-chain extension exercise, maximum posterior shear forces (the resisting forces to anterior drawer) of 285 +/- 120 newtons (mean and standard deviation) occurred at 30 degrees of knee flexion and maximum anterior shear forces (the resisting forces to posterior drawer) of 1780 +/- 699 newtons occurred at 90 degrees of knee flexion. The closed-kinetic-chain exercise produced significantly less posterior shear force at all angles when compared with the open-kinetic-chain extension exercise. In addition, the closed-kinetic-chain exercise produced significantly less anterior shear force at all angles except 30 degrees when compared with the open-kinetic-chain flexion exercise (p < 0.05). Analysis of tibiofemoral compression forces and electromyographic recruitment patterns revealed that the closed-kinetic-chain exercise produced significantly greater compression forces and increased muscular co-contraction at the same angles at which the open-kinetic-chain exercises produced maximum shear forces and minimum muscular co-contraction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Kinematic and stability of the Norway elbow. A cadaveric study.

We investigated the effect of simulated muscle loading and the contribution of the radial head to stability of the Norway elbow in 6 cadavers using an electromagnetic tracking device. The kinematics of the elbow after implantation of the prosthesis were similar to the intact elbow in their valgus-varus orientation, however, the forearms were slightly externally rotated, probably due to a small amount of external rotation of the humeral components at the time of implantation. The valgus-varus laxity limit of the implants were greater than in the intact specimens averaging 8.0 and 5.6 degrees, respectively. Simulated muscle loading stabilized both the intact and the Norway elbows. Excision of the radial head after implant arthroplasty increased their valgus-varus laxity, suggesting that preservation of the radial head may be indicated if it is not too severely involved by the underlying disease process. The laxity permitted by the prosthesis articulation is greater than that measured after implantation of the Norway arthroplasty. This suggests that the prosthesis may behave as an unconstrained arthroplasty. This should minimize the stress experienced by the bone-cement interface and may reduce the incidence of loosening. The laxity of the elbows after joint arthroplasty were only slightly greater than normal, possibly explaining the low incidence of prosthesis dislocation which has been observed with clinical use.

Aged↗

Measurement of friction between pulley and flexor tendon.

When tendon excursion takes place through the pulley, friction and drag are encountered at the interface. Repetitive exposure to such friction and attrition of the tendon has been considered one of the important factors causing cumulative trauma and leading to disorders such as tendinitis and tenosynovitis. In this study, development of an experimental method to evaluate friction and drag between the pulley and tendon under different loading conditions and joint configurations is considered. Verification of the model under an ideal situation of sutures across a mechanical pulley was performed.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

Small external fixation devices for the hand and wrist.

Small external fixators have been developed for use in the hand and wrist. The main indications are stabilization of open or infected fracture or non-union of the metacarpals and phalanges; length maintenance in segmental bone loss; and distraction-lengthening of the fingers. The device may be used also for articular or periarticular fracture, closed diaphyseal fracture in adults, fracture in children, various arthrodeses, or corrective osteotomies.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

Biochemically discrete zones of canine flexor tendon: evaluation of properties with a new photographic method.

We describe a photographic method that we have found useful for studying small strain fields within a larger zone of interest. We have used this method to document differences in material properties which correlate with zones of different biochemical makeup in the canine flexor digitorum profundus tendon. This method may be useful in analysis of experimental injury and wound healing in this model and may have application in evaluating material properties of soft tissue in other models as well.

Animals↗

Origin of the medial ulnar collateral ligament.

The anatomic features of the origin of the anterior medial collateral ligament of the elbow were studied in 10 cadaver elbows to determine the percentage of the medial epicondyle that can be removed without violating the ligament, and whether or not this ligament attaches to the condyle as well as to the epicondyle. In all specimens the anterior medial collateral ligament originated exclusively from the anteroinferior surface of medial epicondyle and had no attachment to the condyle. Only 20% of the width of the medial epicondyle in the coronal plane can be removed without violating a portion of the origin of the anterior medial collateral ligament, an essential stabilizer of the elbow. Excision of the entire epicondyle for ulnar neuropathy would completely detach this ligament from its origin and might therefore potentiate instability. Since the ligament originates on the anteroinferior surface of the epicondyle, more bone can be removed with less violation of the anterior medial collateral ligament origin if the plane of the osteotomy lies between the sagittal and coronal planes.

Cadaver↗

The relationship between wrist position, grasp size, and grip strength.

In the first part of this study, the position assumed by a normal wrist during unconstrained maximal grip and the relationship between wrist position and grip strength were investigated in 20 healthy subjects. Grip strength and wrist position were recorded in the self-selected position and then again while the subjects voluntarily deviated the wrist randomly into flexion, extension, or radial or ulnar deviation of 10 to 15 degrees. The self-selected position was 35 degrees of extension and 7 degrees of ulnar deviation. Grip strength was significantly less in any position of deviation from this self-selected position, even after accounting for fatigue. With the wrist in only 15 degrees of extension or in neutral radio-ulnar deviation, grip strength was reduced to two thirds to three fourths of normal. Sex did not affect wrist position. The dominant wrists were within 5 degrees of the nondominant ones but were relatively less extended and in more ulnar deviation. Grip strength is significantly reduced when wrist position deviates from this self-selected optimum position. In the second part of the study, the effect of grasp size on this self-selected position was studied in 21 subjects. The degree of wrist extension was inversely and linearly related to how large a setting on the Jamar dynamometer was used. This was true regardless of hand size, although the effect was more significant for smaller hands. Radial and ulnar deviations were not affected by handle position. A minimum of 25 degrees of wrist extension was required for optimum grip strength.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Changes in wrist and forearm configuration with grasp and isometric contraction of elbow flexors.

The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in wrist and forearm configuration with grasp and elbow flexor contraction by analysis of resting and grasping x-ray films of 15 normal adults and forearm scanograms of 10 other normal subjects. With grasp, a significant proximal migration of the radius (averaging 0.9 mm), a decrease in the carpal height ratio, and an increase in the lunate uncovering index were observed. With flexor contraction, there was a significant decrease in the forearm interosseous space.

Adult↗

Comparative flexor tendon excursion after passive mobilization: an in vitro study.

Two experimental studies were conducted to investigate flexor tendon excursions. In the first study, tendon excursions due to passive joint motion in various loading condition were evaluated. In the second study, the efficacy of a new technique that used synergistic wrist motion (S-splint) was compared with the traditional dorsal splinting methods: the Kleinert splint (K-splint) and the Brooke Army Hospital/Walter Reed modified Kleinert splint with a palmar bar (P-splint). The results of these studies question the anticipated tendon excursion associated with postoperative splinting. They demonstrated that the measured tendon excursion under a condition of low tendon tension was almost half that of theoretically predicted values. In zone II, the magnitude of excursion introduced by the three mobilization methods were in descending order: S-splint, P-splint, K-splint (p less than 0.05). Differential tendon excursion between the flexor digitorum profundus and the flexor digitorum superficialis had a mean value of 3 mm and was not significantly different among the three methods. Passive proximal interphalangeal joint motion was the most effective means of providing increased amplitude of tendon gliding in zone II. Passive distal interphalangeal joint motion did not increase excursion in zone II as much as had been predicted.

Cadaver↗

Flexor tendon forces: in vivo measurements.

S-shaped force transducers were developed for measurement of the forces along intact tendons. After calibration, the transducers were applied to the flexor pollicis longus and flexor digitorum superficialis and profundus tendons of the index finger in five patients operated on for treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. The tendon forces generated during passive and active motion of the wrist and fingers were recorded. For pinch function, the amount of the applied load was measured with a special pinch meter. Tendon forces in the range of 0.1 to 0.6 kgf were measured during passive mobilization of the wrist. Tendon forces up to 0.9 kgf were present during passive mobilization of the fingers. Tendon forces up to 3.5 kgf were present during active unresisted finger motion. Tendon forces up to 12.0 kgf were recorded during tip pinch, with a mean applied pinch force of 3.5 kgf. These results have potential application in determining the amount of force that a tendon repair would have to resist during passive as well as active postsurgical mobilizations.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome↗

Force distribution across wrist joint: application of pressure-sensitive conductive rubber.

A new pressure-sensitive conductive rubber sensor was used for investigation of the pressure distribution through the radio-ulno-carpal joint. Twelve of these transducers were placed in the radio-ulno-carpal joint. Pressure was measured in seven different wrist positions under loads incrementally increasing from 0 to 12 kg. Half of the sensors showed less than 0.5 MPa, even at maximum load, while a high-pressure area was located palmary in each fossa. The peak pressure measured in the wrist neutral position was 2.4 MPa on the scaphoid fossa, 1.5 MPa on the lunate fossa, and 1.1 MPa on the triangular fibrocartilage with a 10 kg load. The peak pressure ratio between the scaphoid and the lunate was 1.7 in the neutral wrist position. This increased in radial deviation to 2.9 and decreased in ulnar deviation to 0.8. The force-transmission ratio was 50% through the scaphoid fossa, 35% through the lunate fossa, and 15% through the triangular fibrocartilage in the neutral position. The advantage of this sensor is that it is thin and flexible and provides reliable reproducible quasi-instantaneous measurements.

Biophysical Phenomena↗

Healing of canine tendon in zones subjected to different mechanical forces.

The effect of external force environment on the healing of a partial thickness injury to canine flexor tendon was studied. A 50% laceration was made in either the fibrocartilaginous (compressive) zone or in the tendinous (tensile) zone of canine flexor digitorum profundus tendons. After three or six weeks, the tendons were harvested. An optical method for determining zone-specific material properties showed that, in response to injury, the structural stiffness decreased in the tensile zone of the tendon but increased in the compressive zone. The mechanical properties and failure mechanism of canine tendon and their changes in response to injury vary according to tendon zone, and differences in the healing process in mechanically specialised zones of the flexor tendon are discussed.

Animals↗

Kinematics of semi-constrained total elbow arthroplasty.

We used 11 cadaver elbows and a three-dimensional electromagnetic tracking device to record elbow movements before and after implantation of a 'loose-hinged' elbow prosthesis (modified Coonrad). During simulated active motion there was a maximum of 2.7 degrees (+/- 1.5 degrees) varus/valgus laxity in the cadaver joints. This increased slightly after total elbow arthroplasty to 3.8 degrees (+/- 1.4 degrees). These values are lower than those recorded for the cadaver joints and for the prostheses at the limits of their varus/valgus displacements, indicating that both behave as 'semi-constrained' joints under physiological conditions. They suggest that the muscles absorb some of the forces and moments that in a constrained prosthesis would be transferred to the prosthesis-bone interface.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

A normal data base of posteroanterior roentgenographic measurements of the wrist.

In 120 adults, we measured the dominant wrist on posteroanterior roentgenograms in order to determine the normal dimensions and variations according to age and sex. Men and women were equally represented as were two age-groups (twenty-five to forty years and forty-one to sixty years). The roentgenograms were made, with standard exposure and development techniques, with the wrist and forearm in a neutral position and the x-ray tube aligned vertical to the radial styloid. The roentgenogram that was made with the wrist in the mid-coronal plane was digitized and was used to measure distances between specified landmarks. The mean ulnar variance was -0.9 millimeter (normal range, -4.2 to 2.3 millimeters). The average carpal height ratio was 53 per cent (normal range, 46 to 61 per cent). The mean radial inclination was 24 degrees (range, 19 to 29 degrees). The carpal-radial and carpal-ulnar ratios were smaller in women. The width of the distal radio-ulnar joint was reduced in the older subjects. There was a significant positive relationship (p < 0.0001) between the maximum force reached and the length of the third metacarpal. We believe that information concerning the normal roentgenographic measurements and relationship between the bones of the wrist can be used (1) to follow the progression of carpal instabilities, osteonecrosis, osteoarthrosis, or rheumatoid arthritis; (2) in clinical research; and (3) in the design of wrist implants.

Aged↗