INTRODUCTION External mechanical forces on cells are known to influence cytoskeletal structure and thus cell shape. Mechanical loading in long bones is unidirectional along their long axes, whereas the calvariae are loaded at much lower amplitudes in different directions. We hypothesised that if osteocytes, the putative bone mechanosensors, can indeed sense matrix strains directly via their cyt...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) represent a promising and clinically relevant cell source for tissue engineering applications. As such, guiding MSCs toward specific lineages and maintaining these phenotypes have been particularly challenging as the contributions of mechanical, chemical and structural cues to the complex differentiation process are largely unknown. To fully harness the potential of...

BACKGROUND The alignment of the lower extremity has important implications in the development of knee arthritis. The effect of incremental rotations of the limb on common parameters of alignment has not been studied. The purpose of the study was to (1) determine the standardized neutral position measurements of alignment and (2) determine the effect of rotation on commonly used measurements of ...

BACKGROUND Total knee arthroplasty is one of the most clinically successful and cost-effective interventions in medicine. However, implant malalignment, especially in the coronal plane, is a common cause of early failure following total knee arthroplasty. Computer-assisted surgery has been employed during total knee arthroplasty to improve the precision of component alignment. The purpose of th...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Patient-specific templating total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a new method for alignment of a total knee arthroplasty that uses disposable guides. We present the results of the first 40 consecutive patients who were operated on using this technique. METHODS In this case-control study, we compared blood loss, operation time, and alignment of 40 TKAs performed using a pati...

OBJECTIVE Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial condition. The progression of knee OA is determined in part by mechanical effects on local structures. One of the mechanical influences on cartilage loss is limb alignment. We explored the structural factors associated with malalignment in subjects with symptomatic OA. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional assessment using The Boston Osteoart...

There is increasing evidence that for a number of patients, neutral alignment is not normal. Patients with so-called constitutional varus have been in varus alignment since the end of their growth. Restoring neutral alignment in these cases may not be the best option for these patients since it is abnormal to them. We recently performed a number of observational studies to find out how patients...

Aligned and random nanocomposite nanofibrous scaffolds were electrospun from polycaprolactone (PCL), poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHA). The morphology and mechanical characteristics of the nanofibers were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy and tensile testing, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed fibers with an average diameter of 123 ± 3...

BACKGROUND Based on historical data, the current standard of care in Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) is to restore the overall alignment to a neutral mechanical axis of 0°±3° or even slight valgus. However, there is significant controversy in literature regarding intentionally placing the TKA in the patient's physiologic, rather than neutral (0±3°), mechanical alignment. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES The ...