Figure 5

Device for the standardized, displacement-controlled compressive loading of human articular chondral samples. In preparation of this study, an intact right human knee joint had been scanned by CT to obtain the bone contours of femur and tibia which were 3D printed and subsequently covered by wirosil® silicone (as artificial cartilage layer) in its native configuration. (a) At the center of the medial femoral condyle a circular defect (8 mm diameter, 3 mm depth) was created within the wirosil® silicone (blue material) to be filled with native human articular cartilage samples of equal dimensions (red). (b) Loading was brought about by axial displacement of the tibial component (left) against the fixed femoral component (right). The standardized knee was covered by a transparent artificial joint capsule sealed with O-rings and filled with PBS buffer. (c) The assembled and sample-loaded device is displayed within the bore of a 3.0 T MRI system; for imaging, a dual-coil setup was used (attached above and below the knee).