Modelling Framework for In-Vivo Knee Joint Contact Analysis

英国有875万人寻求骨关节炎（OA）的治疗，这种疾病每年给英国经济造成100亿英镑的损失（与关节炎相比）。目前的治疗只能缓解症状或可能延缓病情发展。为了量化未来治疗方法的疗效，准确评估正常和病理的活体膝关节功能（运动和负荷）是必不可少的。传统上，膝关节负荷的计算建模依赖于基于标记的运动捕捉作为输入数据，由于与皮肤上的标记相关的软组织误差，导致接触动力学不准确。作为对这一限制的创新回应，卡迪夫大学开发的动态双翼x射线成像（DBX）可以捕捉志愿者活动期间膝关节的实时运动图像。对于这个研究项目，DBX结合高保真磁共振成像（MRI）将提供高度精确的、特定于受试者的输入数据，以开发更真实的动态肌肉骨骼和接触模型，并对健康和骨关节炎膝关节的组织负荷进行相关估计。这个独特的跨学科项目将现有的成像、实验和计算技术整合到一个新的多尺度建模框架中，目的是：-提供一个考虑运动、负荷、解剖和肌肉活动的特定受试者膝盖建模框架-使用DBX和MRI数据校准一个考虑控制和OA软骨特性的膝关节软骨模型-使用健康和OA志愿者的体内数据验证多尺度模型基于在学习期间开发的强大建模框架，然后可以探索旨在使膝关节机械环境正常化的早期手术和非手术治疗。

8.75M people in the UK have sought treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) and the condition costs the UK economy £10B/year (Versus Arthritis). Current treatments only alleviate the symptoms or potentially delay progression. To quantify the efficacy of future therapeutics, accurate evaluation of normal and pathological in-vivo knee joint function (movement and loading) are essential.Traditionally, computational modelling of knee loading relies on marker-based motion capture as input data, creating inaccuracies in the contact dynamics due to soft tissue errors associated with markers attached to the skin. As an innovative response to this limitation, Dynamic Biplane X-Ray imaging (DBX), developed at Cardiff, captures real-time moving images of a volunteer's knee joint during activity. For this studentship, DBX, in combination with high fidelity Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) will provide highly-accurate, subject-specific input data to develop more realistic dynamic musculoskeletal and contact models with associated estimates of tissue loading in healthy and osteoarthritic knees.This unique interdisciplinary project will integrate existing imaging, experimental and computational technologies into a novel multi-scale modelling framework with the aim to: - Provide a subject-specific knee modelling framework accounting for movement, loading, anatomy and muscle activity - Calibrate a knee cartilage model accounting for control and OA cartilage properties using DBX and MRI data - Validate the multi-scale model using in-vivo data for healthy and OA volunteersBased on the robust modelling framework developed during the studentship, early surgical and non-surgical therapeutics aiming to normalise the knee's mechanical environment can then be explored.