Viscoelastic properties of articular cartilage at high frequencies Geoffrey R Fulcher David WL Hukins Duncan ET Shepherd School of Mechanical Engineering University of Birmingham
Articular cartilage Low friction & wear Transmitting forces Deformable: larger areas - lower stress
Articular cartilage Viscoelastic Behaviour under the full range of physiological loading frequencies?
Rise time of heel strike force Generally 100-150 ms Some people 5-25 ms implicated in the onset of osteoarthritis
1 Hz rise time 500 ms 90 Hz rise time 5.6 ms
Objective To measure the viscoelastic properties of bovine articular cartilage at loading frequencies of up to 90 Hz
Viscoelasticity
Viscoelasticity phase angle of 0° material is purely elastic material is purely viscous
Viscoelastic material Storage modulus, E´ elastic part of the response (where energy is stored and used for elastic recoil of the specimen when a stress is removed) Loss modulus, E´´ the viscous response (where energy is dissipated and the material flows)
Materials & methods Bovine Tibial plateau Fluid bath Indenter
Materials & methods Bose ElectroForce 3200 testing machine WinTest DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analysis)
Materials & methods sinusoidally varying compressive force of between 16 N and 36 N 1.7 MPa 1 to 90 Hz Calculated: E´ E´´
Results
Results
Storage modulus Curve fit Slope
Phase angle > 0 for all frequencies 1 to 90 Hz 3.4 to 5.7° (mean = 4.9°, SD = 0.6°) Viscoelastic
Implications for osteoarthritis? More energy is stored by the tissue than is dissipated Effect is greater at higher frequencies. Main mechanism for this excess energy to be dissipated is by the formation of cracks
Implications for osteoarthritis? 1 Hz 100 Hz 10 Hz
Conclusions Articular cartilage is viscoelastic 1 to 90 Hz High frequency loading, seen in some of the population, may be implicated in osteoarthritis
Acknowledgements Arthritis Research Campaign Duncan ET Shepherd BEng, PhD, CEng, FIMechE School of Mechanical Engineering University of Birmingham d.e.shepherd@bham.ac.uk www.bioeng.bham.ac.uk