VISUALIZATION AND QUANTITATIVE-ANALYSIS OF TALOCRURAL JOINT KINEMATICS

The three dimensional (3D) in vivo kinematic behavior of the ankle joi nt was evaluated using spiral volumetric CT scanning of a normal adult foot. The CT data were reconstructed and interpolated to create an is otropic 3D data volume. These data were rendered, visualized, segmente d into their bony elements, labeled, and exported to disk using Mayo A nalyze(TM) software. The labeled 3D CT datasets were analyzed to deter mine relative orientation, translation, and rotation of the tibia-talu s, tibia-calcaneus and calcaneus-talus. Using these results, the 3D mo tion characteristics during normal adult foot flexion/extension were d escribed quantitatively.