Contact: Prof. D. L. Bartel

Email: DLB13@cornell.edu

Phone: 255-4918

Office: 219B Upson Hall

Minimal Size Knee Replacements

There is considerable interest in developing knee replacement components that are as small as possible. Small components may be implanted through smaller incisions and may minimize the amount of bone that must be removed by the surgeon. Smaller components, however, may overload the bone and may be subject to stresses that increase the risk of failure of the implant itself. The goal of this project is to examine the design trade-offs between size and component and bone stress for tibial components used for total knee replacements. We will employ beam on elastic foundation models and finite element analysis to determine the stresses in the bone-implant system.