Madison Caldon

In a human joint, articular cartilage provides the low frictional environment and smooth, painless articulation needed for joints to function optimally. Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, weakens the proper mechanical function produced by cartilage. Due to cartilage’s limited repair capacity, joint replacement surgeries are often utilized to restore function to joints impacted by disease. In order to develop more effective osteoarthritis treatment methods, the mechanical properties of articular cartilage must be well understood. Temperature is a highly relevant variable in material mechanics, yet the impact of temperature on cartilage mechanical behavior is not well known. This study investigated effects of temperature on the physical and mechanical properties of bovine articular cartilage. Groups of cartilage samples were harvested from a bovine knee joint, then analyzed for their physical properties with laser scans, both before and after heat treatment in thermal baths set to predetermined temperatures. Mechanical testing was also utilized to measure cartilage stiffness before and after heat treatment. The collected data demonstrated that increased cartilage temperature results in an increase in cartilage stiffness, providing critical information regarding the correlation between cartilage stiffness and temperature. This study’s exploration of cartilage mechanics can ultimately yield more insight into mechanisms of cartilage material behavior, which is fundamental for the development of joint disease treatment methods that aim to impede cartilage deterioration.

Research Paper

2023 JSHS Metro Region Semifinalist