Simulation and visualization of knee joint contact using deformable model

We introduce a new method for simulating and visualizing femur-menisci contact in human knee joint using computer generated 3D models. Knee joint contact analysis is important for understanding or solving clinical problems. Traditional knee biomechanical analysis is mostly conducted on a cadaver or based on mathematical descriptions. The lack of 3D graphical visualization makes it difficult to understand the analysis and integrate it into virtual medical simulation systems. Our method addresses this problem by using patient specific knee models and motion data to obtain the contact area information. Our method employs a new physics-based algorithm for menisci deformation and can calculate and visualize knee-menisci contact areas during gait cycles.