Abstract:

Objective　To investigate a quantitative method to describe the morphometry of distal femur articular surface based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to provide morphometric data support for design of articular surface fixation and articular cartilage repairing of distal femur.　Methods　130 knees in healthy Chinese were included for MRI scanning from January 2010 to June 2014. Several reconstruction software were used to take curve or sphere fitting and measurements of distal femur articular surfaces including condyles and trochlea.　Results　The articular surfaces of the medial and lateral femoral condyles can be fitted by using several circular arcs respectively both in sagittal and coronal planes, a close-fit sphere was generated on the surface of the medial and lateral trochlear articular surfaces respectively.　Conclusion　We quantitatively describe the irregular profiles of the three portions forming the distal femur by using simple geometric parameters. the data are expected to provide morphometric support for design of articular surface fixation and articular cartilage repairing of distal femur.

Key words:  Distal femur, Articular surface, Morphometry, Magnetic resonance imaging