Measurements of friction in synovial joints to assess the lubrication mechanism by a robotic arm under the force control

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A system to measure joint friction was designed using a robotic arm. Force control was used to survey the geometry of sliding surfaces. Five rabbit stifles were used for each experiment. First, the experimental conditions tested were I) intact joints, ii) after washing the joint surfaces, iii) susequently after addition of 1 wt% hyaluronic acid (HA). The start-up friction were low immediately after loading on any joints. That increased with washing and decreased after the addition of HA. Additionally, friction in rabbit stifle joints that were experimentally degenerated by the in-vivo injection of papain was measured. That start-up coefficient of friction was triple of that on intact joints after a period of loading. That was not decreased by addition of HA.