ASSESSMENT OF ANTEROPOSTERIOR [AP] KNEE JOINT LAXITY USING NON-INVASIVE NAVIGATION IN HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS

The knee joint displays a wide spectrum of laxity, from inherently tight to excessively lax even within the normal, uninjured population. The assessment of AP knee laxity in the clinical setting is performed by manual passive tests such as the Lachman test. Non-invasive assessment based on image free navigation has been clinically validated and used to quantify mechanical alignment and coronal knee laxity in early flexion. When used on cadavers the system demonstrated good AP laxity results with flexion up to 40°. This study aimed to validate the repeatability of the assessment of antero-posterior (AP) knee joint laxity using a non-invasive image free navigation system in normal, healthy subjects.Twenty-five healthy volunteers were recruited and examined in a single centre. AP translation was measured using a non-invasive navigation system (PhysioPilot) consisting of an infrared camera, externally mounted optical trackers and computer software. Each of the volunteers had both legs examined by a single exa...