Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
Accurate femoral tunnel placement is essential for successful anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. However, conventional methods based on the Blumensaat’s line (BL) are limited by anatomical variability. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of a novel method using bony landmarks (point B and line R) for predicting ACL femoral footprint compared to conventional methods.
Methods
This was a descriptive laboratory study in which 50 formalin-fixed cadaveric knees (19 males, 31 females; mean age, 82 years) were analyzed. The actual ACL femoral footprint (A-footprint) was compared with two predictive methods: (1) a conventional method based on BL parameters (P-footprint), and (2) a novel method using point B and line R (M-footprint). Coverage ratios were calculated, and reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients .
Results
The mean A-footprint area was 146.0 ± 21.2 mm². The mean coverage ratio was significantly higher for the M-footprint (84.85% ± 7.2%) than for the P-footprint (71.8% ± 9.6%) (p < 0.001). Point B was located at 75.2% ± 6.3% from the anterior margin of BL. Inter-observer reliability was good (ICC = 0.719).
Conclusion
The novel method using point B and line R demonstrated improved accuracy in predicting ACL femoral footprint compared to conventional methods.