NONINVASIVE ACCELERATION MEASUREMENTS TO CHARACTERIZE KNEE ARTHRITIS AND CHONDROMALACIA

Devising techniques and instrumentation for early detection of knee ar thritis and chondromalacia presents a challenge in the domain of biome dical engineering. The purpose of the present investigation was to cha racterize normal knees and knees affected by osteoarthritis, rheumatoi d arthritis, and chondromalacia using a set of noninvasive acceleratio n measurements. Ultraminiature accelerometers were placed on the skin over the patella in four groups of subjects, and acceleration measurem ents were obtained during leg rotation. Acceleration measurements were significantly different in the four groups of subjects in the time an d frequency domains. Power spectral analysis revealed that the average power was significantly different for these groups over a 100-500 Hz range. Noninvasive acceleration measurements can characterize the norm al, arthritis, and chondromalacia knees. However, a study on a larger group of subjects is indicated.