The Journal of Biomechanics

Theodore W. Rudy, Glen A. Livesay, Savio L-Y. Woo, Freddie H. Fu


We developed a system that uses a 6 degree of freedom (6-DOF) robotic manipulator combined with a 6-DOF force-moment sensor and a control system. The system is used to find and record the passive knee flexion path for controlling the knee flexion positions. It is also used to strain a knee structure by finding a multiple-DOF path in response to specific joint loading, e.g. anterior-posterior tibial force application. It is additionally used to measure in-situ forces in ligaments by recording differences in forces and moments when repeating a prerecorded path, both before and after removal of the ligament of interest. Example applications are included in the study.