Morphometric Analysis and Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Reconstruction of Thai Distal Femur

Abstract

This study evaluates the distal femur morphology of the Thai population using a three-dimensional (3D) measurement method, measuring the distance between the triangular point of the femoral 3D model. The 3D model of 360 Thai femoral obtained from 180 volunteers (90 males, 90 females; range 20–50 years, average 32.8 years) was created using reverse engineering techniques from computed tomography imaging data. Using the 3D identified landmark method, the morphometric parameters evaluated included transepicondylar axis length (TEA), mediolateral length (ML), anteroposterior width (AP), medial anteroposterior width (MAP), lateral anteroposterior width (LAP), medial condyle width (MCW), lateral condyle width (LCW), intercondylar notch width (WIN), intercondylar notch depth (DIN), medial posterior condyle height (MPC), lateral posterior condyle height (LPC), femoral aspect ratio (ML/AP), lateral femoral aspect ratio (ML/LAP), and medial femoral aspect ratio (ML/MAP). The measured data were summarized for the analysis of an average value and standard deviation. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent samples t-test, unequal variances t-test, and linear regression. A p-value less than 0.05 (<0.05) was regarded as statistically significant and indicates strong evidence of the hypothesis. Additionally, the K-means clustering analysis of Thai distal femoral to the optimum size of the prosthesis with the correlation between ML length and AP width was performed. The results found that the morphometric parameters of the Thai male distal femur were significantly different and higher than those of Thai females, except for the ratio of ML/AP and ML/MAP. Comparatively, there was a significant difference between the specific size of Thai distal femur and that of the Korean population, which was also smaller than that for Caucasians. In addition, there was a mismatch between the distal femoral component sizing of knee prosthesis and what is available and commonly used in Thailand. At least six sizes of ML and/or AP should be recommended for the reasonable design of distal femoral prosthesis for covering the anatomy of Thais. These data are useful for predicting the morphometric parameters in forensic anthropology and provide basic data for the design of knee prostheses suitable for the Thai population.