Objective knee evaluation using the Genucom Knee Analysis System. Clinical implications.

The Genucom Knee Analysis System was used in a clinical setting to study the clinical practicality of the Genucom instrument, and the degree of correlation between Genucom and clinical knee examinations. The Genucom evaluation performed by an experienced examiner required 25 to 30 minutes for a 14 test bilateral examination. The instrument provided detailed graphical and tabular data of the test results. One hundred "normal knees" were examined in a series of seven Genucom tests. Normal "laxity bands" for both males and females were generated for a range of load applications for the seven tests. There was no significant difference observed between the male and female laxity distributions. However, a slightly lesser laxity was observed for the male population in general. A group of 38 subjects with 1 injured knee were assessed concurrently using clinical and instrument techniques. Comparisons were made for the 90 degrees anterior-posterior (AP) drawer, the 30 degrees AP drawer (Lachman), and the varus/valgus stress test. For the 90 degrees AP drawer test, 16 subjects were found clinically to have less than or equal to 5 mm of excess laxity based on comparison with the opposite normal knee. The instrumented measurement concurred in 10 cases. In the other six cases it was noted that laxity on the uninjured knee reached the maximum of the "normal" instrumented population, that is with higher than normal laxities. Fifteen subjects were clinically tested with greater than 5 mm of excess laxity. The instrumented test concurred in all but one.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)