such diseases has become a must in our electronic era since the best OA prevention medicine — physical activity , has become less and less of a favourable option . As humans reach an older age , mobility will become an issue as the elderly face problems with muscle strength and degenerating joints . While the issue of muscle strength can be avoided by exercising the muscle , severe OA can only be overcome via surgery . Therefore , early detection of OA can give a huge advantage to the elderly to get help to improve their functional capability from an early stage .
detecting the vibrations and acoustic emissions they produce using highly sensitive sensors and comparing the results with the ideal signal . The type of fault can be easily diagnosed by looking for differences in signal frequency and amplitude . By simply placing the sensors on the body of the machinery the vibration in specific areas can be detected and troubleshooting can be performed .
The human knee joint is also a complex structure which can perform complex mechanical motion in its own range of motion ( ROM ). The human knee joint is mainly made of three parts , femur , patella and tibia ( Figure 2 ) where each of these bone structures are supported by the leg muscles that produces motion on the joint . As shown in Figure 2 , the bone cartilage is placed at the tip of the three knee joint bone structure which plays a major role in smooth , frictionless movement between the knee joints . However due to the wear and tear of the cartilage caused by weak muscle , overweightness or knee injuries , the cartilage is progressively worn out up to a point where the bones become completely exposed .
Figure 1 : Average Age of the Malaysian Population Source : Statista
Currently , OA is diagnosed using imaging modalities such as X-ray which exposes patients to radiation especially if frequent imaging is needed within a short interval ; or using Magnetic Resonance Imaging ( MRI ) which involves expensive hardware and personnel . Other methods such as Joint Fluid Analysis ( JFA ) and Arthroscopy which are invasive , may not be the most ideal diagnostic methods and may be the main reason patients neglect getting diagnosed in the early stages of OA .
Innovative Principles
Detection and visualisation of vibrations and acoustic emissions produced from mechanical vibration is known as vibrography . This method has been used for years in industry for the detection of faults in complex motors and machinery by
Figure 2 : Knee joint structure Source : WebMD
When the knee bones are exposed , they will produce abnormal vibrations and acoustic emissions as compared to the vibrations and acoustic emissions produced by a normal knee . This is due to the extra friction produced by the bones ’ uneven surface . This allows vibrography to be used to detect and compare the vibrations and its echoes produced by the bone structure of the OA knee with that of a normal knee . This method can also be called Vibroarthrography ( VAG ).
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