Classification of joint pathology using an acoustical analysis of knee joint sound

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and classify arthritic pathology using the acoustical analysis of knee sound. Six normal subjects and 11 patients with knee problem were enrolled and patients were divided into the 1st patient group needed an orthopeadic surgery because of the ruptured wounds of meniscus or ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and 2nd patient group diagnosed as osteoarthritis. In sitting and standing position, subjects flexed and extended the knee joint, the sounds and angle of knee joint were collected. The results showed that the values of fundamental frequency, jitter and shimmer of osteoarthritis patient group were larger than values of normal group and the values of orthopaedic patient group were smaller than values of normal group. These results suggest that an analysis of knee joint sound might assist non-invasive diagnosis of an articular pathology.