Back in September of 1974, I acquired much valuable information while attending the International Conference on Total Knee Replacement in London, which was organized by The Medical Engineering Working Party and the Tribology Group of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and the British Orthopaedic Association. I was greatly inspired by the conference, and it formed the beginning of my studies on total knee replacement. The co-editors of this proceedings, Prof. J. Paul and Dr. S. Yamamoto, are both acquaintances made originally at that conference. The International Symposium on Total Knee...

A major part of orthopedics is the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases caused by structural disorders and mechanical breakdown of living tissue. Therefore, biomechanical consideration of static structures and dynamic mechanisms is compulsory for both diagnosis and treatment of orthopedic diseases. Previous biomechanical studies have enabled great advances in orthopedic implant technology, such as artificial joint replacement and instrumentation for spinal fusion. Consequently the importance of biomechanics is increasing more and more in daily clinical practice and development. In addition,...