AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY REGARDING GEOMETRICAL PLANNING OF THE HIGH TIBIAL OSTEOTOMY

ABSTRACT: The following article is an interdisciplinary study focusing on a frequently used surgical strategy in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint. The procedure is called Opening Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy (hereinafter OWHTO). The main objective of this paper is to optimize the geometric planning of the intervention from a dimension-based perspective. While we have previously addressed this topic using CAD and FEM methods, this paper will take an experimental approach to confirm the theoretical and numerical approaches and provide additional information. Specifically, experimental studies will be conducted to determine the maximum force that occurs in the Center of Rotation of the Angulation (hereinafter CORA) joint area during the osteotomy cut and, consequently, the correction angle. The factors influencing the response function are: the position of the starting point of the osteotomy plane cut, the angular value, and the distance between the CORA and the lateral cortical bone of the tibia. A Taguchi-type experimental program was designed, and the results obtained are clearly presented and can serve as a guide for orthopedic surgeons.