LAUSR

Trochleoplasty is a surgical procedure used to treat patellar instability through modifying the trochlear groove. Analysis of the groove with a hand-held scanner would enable accurate real time planning and facilitate tailor made correction. We aimed to measure trochlear depth, sulcus angle, trochlear facet ratio, trochlear angle and lateral trochlear inclination angle and establish inter- and intra-rater reliability for each knee model. The trochlear groove of the knee models was scanned by two investigators and 3D reference models created. These were surface matched and custom software along with Excel was utilised to determine the desired parameters. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used for test-retest reliability and to determine which parameter results, for each model, showed the best reproducibility. There was good inter-observer reliability - trochlear depth (1.0 mm), sulcus angle (2.7°), trochlear angle (4.0°) and lateral trochlear inclination angle (4.0°), except in the trochlear facet ratio (32.0%) of one knee model. With outliers removed ICC was good-excellent in (46.7%) of measurements, with trochlear depth showing the best reproducibility. This feasibility study showed that the hand-held scanner in conjunction with supporting software can measure trochlear parameters in a controlled environment and justifies extending research into its use in trochleoplasty.