Scholarlink

Background <p>Side-to-side comparisons of knee joints are commonly used in orthopaedic research and surgery because natural pairs provide strong internal control for genetic, developmental, and environmental factors. This approach generally assumes that the contralateral knee represents a healthy anatomical baseline. However, it remains unclear whether this assumption holds in the presence of trochlear dysplasia, a key risk factor for patellofemoral instability (PFI), as dysplasia may affect the degree of bilateral symmetry in knee morphology. This study aimed to quantify three-dimensional (3D) morphological bony symmetry of knee joints and evaluate the impact of trochlear dysplasia.</p> Methods <p>Bilateral Computed tomography (CT) scans from 187 subjects were analysed, including 137 without trochlear dysplasia, 37 with low-grade dysplasia, and 13 with high-grade dysplasia. Surface models of the distal femur, patella, and proximal tibia were generated using automated segmentation with manual refinement. Correspondence points (CPs) were established via rigid registration of mirrored left-side models to right-side counterparts, followed by non-rigid registration of the right-side models onto the aligned left-side models. Symmetry was quantified as Euclidean distances between CPs.</p> Results <p>Median CP distances were 0.8&#xa0;mm in nondysplastic femurs and tibiae (1st–99th percentile 0.2–2.0/2.1&#xa0;mm) and 0.9&#xa0;mm in dysplastic femurs and tibiae (1st–99th percentile 0.2–2.1/2.3&#xa0;mm), indicating a high degree of bilateral symmetry. Localized asymmetries of approximately 2–3&#xa0;mm were observed, although no consistent anatomical patterns were identified. Patellar asymmetry increased with dysplasia severity, although it was primarily due to loose bone fragments rather than true anatomical variation.</p> Conclusions <p>Both nondysplastic and dysplastic knees exhibit high bilateral bony symmetry. Although CP distances were slightly higher in dysplastic knees, femoral and tibial CP distances remained small (group-level 99th percentiles ≤ 2.3&#xa0;mm) and are therefore likely clinically irrelevant.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

High bilateral bony symmetry in dysplastic and nondysplastic knees: a CT-based 3D evaluation

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月29日

查看全文
  • Miriam R. Boot,
  • Sebastiaan A.W. van de Groes,
  • Julia van den Heiligenberg,
  • Esther Tanck,
  • Dennis Janssen

摘要

Background

Side-to-side comparisons of knee joints are commonly used in orthopaedic research and surgery because natural pairs provide strong internal control for genetic, developmental, and environmental factors. This approach generally assumes that the contralateral knee represents a healthy anatomical baseline. However, it remains unclear whether this assumption holds in the presence of trochlear dysplasia, a key risk factor for patellofemoral instability (PFI), as dysplasia may affect the degree of bilateral symmetry in knee morphology. This study aimed to quantify three-dimensional (3D) morphological bony symmetry of knee joints and evaluate the impact of trochlear dysplasia.

Methods

Bilateral Computed tomography (CT) scans from 187 subjects were analysed, including 137 without trochlear dysplasia, 37 with low-grade dysplasia, and 13 with high-grade dysplasia. Surface models of the distal femur, patella, and proximal tibia were generated using automated segmentation with manual refinement. Correspondence points (CPs) were established via rigid registration of mirrored left-side models to right-side counterparts, followed by non-rigid registration of the right-side models onto the aligned left-side models. Symmetry was quantified as Euclidean distances between CPs.

Results

Median CP distances were 0.8 mm in nondysplastic femurs and tibiae (1st–99th percentile 0.2–2.0/2.1 mm) and 0.9 mm in dysplastic femurs and tibiae (1st–99th percentile 0.2–2.1/2.3 mm), indicating a high degree of bilateral symmetry. Localized asymmetries of approximately 2–3 mm were observed, although no consistent anatomical patterns were identified. Patellar asymmetry increased with dysplasia severity, although it was primarily due to loose bone fragments rather than true anatomical variation.

Conclusions

Both nondysplastic and dysplastic knees exhibit high bilateral bony symmetry. Although CP distances were slightly higher in dysplastic knees, femoral and tibial CP distances remained small (group-level 99th percentiles ≤ 2.3 mm) and are therefore likely clinically irrelevant.