In vitro method to quantify and visualize mechanical wear in human meniscus subjected to joint loading.

The mechanical wear and tear of soft connective tissue from repetitive joint loading is a primary factor in degenerative joint disease, and therefore methods are needed to accurately characterize wear in joint structures. Here, we evaluate the accuracy of using a structured light 3D optical scanning system and modeling software to quantify and visualize volume loss in whole human meniscus subjected to in vitro joint loading. Using 3D printed meniscus replicas with known wear volumes, we determined that this novel imaging method has a mean accuracy of approximately 13 mm, corresponding to a mean error of less than 7% when measuring meniscal volumetric changes of 0.

Quantifying wear depth in hip prostheses using a 3D optical scanner.

The visualization of wear depth in hip prostheses can assist the evaluation of new bearing materials and implant designs. The goal of this study was to develop an accurate, fast, and economical methodology to generate colorimetric maps of wear depth in hip implants using a structured light 3D optical scanning system. The accuracy and precision of this novel technique were determined using reference blocks with known wear depths.