The effect of the variation in ACL constitutive model on joint kinematics and biomechanics under different loads: A finite element study

The biomechanics and function of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) have been widely studied using both experimental and simulation methods. It is known that a constitutive model of joint tissue is a critical factor in the numerical simulation. Some different ligament constitutive models have been presented to describe the ACL material behavior. However, the effect of the variation in the ligament constitutive model on joint kinematics and biomechanics has still not been studied. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element model of an intact tibiofemoral joint was reconstructed. Three ACL constitutive models were compared under different joint loads (such as anterior tibial force, varus tibial torque, and valgus tibial torque) to investigate the effect of the change of the ACL constitutive model. The three constitutive models corresponded to an isotropic hyperelasticity model, a transversely isotropic hyperelasticity model with neo-Hookean ground substance description, and a transversely isotropic hyperelastic model with nonlinear ground substance description. Although the material properties of these constitutive equations were fitted on the same uniaxial tension stress-strain curve, the change of the ACL material constitutive model was found to induce altered joint kinematics and biomechanics. The effect of different ACL constitutive equations on joint kinematics depended on both deformation direction and load type. The variation in the ACL constitutive models would influence the joint kinematic results greatly in both the anterior and internal directions under anterior tibial force as well as some other deformations such as the anterior and medial tibial translations under valgus tibial torque, and the medial tibial translation and internal rotation under varus torque. It was revealed that the transversely isotropic hyperelastic model with nonlinear ground substance description (FE model III) was the best representation of the realistic ACL property by a linear regression between the simulated and the experiment deformation results. But the comparison of the predicted and experiment force of ligaments showed that all the three ACL constitutive models represented similar force results. The stress value and distribution of ACL were also altered by the change in the constitutive equation. In brief, although different ACL constitutive models have been fitted using the same uniaxial tension curve and have the similar longitudinal material property, the ACL constitutive equation should still be carefully chosen to investigate joint kinematics and biomechanics due to the different transverse material behavior.