Development of clinical assessment strategies for patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA)
Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a common surgery that people suffering from hip pain and reduced mobility, generally caused by osteoartrhosis, undergo. In the surgery the head and neck of the femur bone are replaced with a prosthesis whose ball-like head fits into a cup that is inserted into the acetabulum. There are basically two implant technologies being used in the operation, either bone cement is used to fix the prosthesis into the femur or a press-fitting technique is used to insert the prosthesis into the femur. Both techniques have their advantages and disadvantages. However there are no established guidelines for quantitative assessment to use when selecting between them. More so there are no follow up assessment guidelines either, but as the rate of surgeries increases the need for post-operative recovery assessment tools becomes more urgent. In this study, involving 39 THA patients undergoing their first THA, parameters to be used in quantitative assessment of THA patients both pre-operative for implant selection and post-operative for patient recovery assessment were studied. These parameters include bone- and muscle quality assessment using medical imaging processing techniques in Mimics, where the bone mineral density and muscle density are evaluated. Also included are measurements of spatial and temporal gait parameters along with pressure distribution and muscle activity measurements done with GAITRite® pressure sensing carpet and KinePro EMG recording device. Parameters involving image processing in Mimics did prove useful as a pre-operative and recovery assessment tools. Most of the spatial and temporal gait parameters measured proved useful as recovery assessment tools and possibly pre-operative also. Parameters like pressure distribution and muscle activity measurements do need improvement should they be included in pre-operative or recovery assessment for THA patients. Keywords: Total hip arthroplasty, quantitative assessment parameters, bone mineral density, muscle density, gait analysis.
Heilbrigðisverkfræði, Mjaðmaliðir, Liðskiptaaðgerðir, Göngugreining, Tækni- og verkfræðideild, Meistaraprófsritgerðir, Biomedical engineering, Hip joint Surgery, Gait disorders, School of Science and Engineering
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