Kinematics of successful knee prostheses during weight-bearing: Three-dimensional movements and positions of screw axes in the Tricon-M and Miller-Galante designs

Using roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis we recorded the three-dimensional movements in six knees with implanted Tricon-M prostheses and ten knees with Miller-Galante prostheses as the patients ascended a platform. Fourteen patients with normal knees were used as controls. The two prosthetic designs displayed decreased internal tibial rotation and the Tricon-M increased valgus rotation. A central point on the tibial articular surface had a more lateral position in the Tricon-M design and a more distal one in the Miller-Galante design compared to normal knees. Increased posterior displacement with increasing flexion was observed in both designs. When the normal knees were extended at full weightbearing the helical axes mainly shifted inclination in the frontal plane. In the prosthetic knees there was a tendency to anterior-posterior displacement of the axes as extension proceeded, especially in the Miller-Galante design. Translations along the helical axes were larger than normal in the Miller-Galante and smaller in the Tricon-M knees, reflecting differences in constraint of the two designs.