Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR) is one of the most common orthopaedic diagnosesin dogs. There are different methods to diagnose CCLR, but only a few can be considered as both noninvasive and objective. This pilot study aimed to assess software for motion analysis, intended to be used for objective assessment of movements of tissue in investigation of CCLR in dogs. Seven cadavers were used in this study, and veterinary students performed the drawer test. The study was blinded for students and for analysis. Areas over the knees were shaved, temporary tattoos with a doted pattern were placed over the stifle joints and the drawer test was performed during video recording. The software, from the company Kneedly, generated an automatic analysis and a colour sheet for evaluation. Sensitivity of the automatic analysis were 0.67 and specificity 0.84. Results for manual analysis of the colour sheets was 0.57 and 0.79 respectively. The test persons had a sensitivity of 0.51 and a specificity of 0.72. The sensitivity and specificity of the software, for both manual and automatic analysis, were higher compared to those achieved by students, which may indicate that the software could be helpful for diagnosing CCLR in an educational setting. There was a high risk that the results for sensitivity and specificity of the software were falsely low. The reason was the drawer tests performed by students were, subjectively, not always correctly performed. The software may potentially also be useful for teaching and assessment. Further studies are needed to develop the program and to better estimate the efficiency of the software.