Evaluating morphology and operation of a joint

At least one computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method comprising:

• evaluating morphology and/or operation of a joint of an animal using a computer model of the joint, the joint comprising a first bone and a second bone that move relative to one another during use of the joint by the animal, the computer model of the joint comprising a first model of the first bone and a second model of the second bone, the evaluating the morphology and/or operation of the joint comprising:
• determining the morphology of tissue of the joint, wherein determining the morphology comprises size/dimensions, orientations, relative positions, and/or alignments of one or more anatomical features of the first bone and/or the second bone;
• determining a first amount of translation movement of the first bone to simulate;
• determining a second amount of rotation movement of the first bone to simulate;
• simulating movement of the first bone of the joint across a plurality of positions with respect to the second bone, the simulating of the first bone across the plurality of positions comprising simulating translation movement of the first bone in accordance with the first amount and simulating rotation movement of the first bone in accordance with the second amount;
• and
• determining, based on the simulating of the movement of the first bone of the joint, information about operation of the joint.

An apparatus comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method comprising:
• evaluating morphology and/or operation of a joint of an animal using a computer model of the joint, the joint comprising a first bone and a second bone that move relative to one another during use of the joint by the animal, the computer model of the joint comprising a first model of the first bone and a second model of the second bone, the evaluating the morphology and/or operation of the joint comprising:
• determining the morphology of tissues of the joint, wherein determining the morphology comprises size/dimensions, orientations, relative positions, and/or alignments of one or more anatomical features of the first bone and/or the second bone;
• determining a first amount of translation movement of the first bone to simulate;
• determining a second amount of rotation movement of the first bone to simulate;
• simulating movement of the first bone of the joint across a plurality of positions with respect to the second bone, the simulating of the first bone across the plurality of positions comprising simulating translation movement of the first bone in accordance with the first amount and simulating rotation movement of the first bone in accordance with the second amount;
• and
• determining, based on the simulating of the movement of the first bone of the joint, information about operation of the joint;
• and
• in response to determining that the morphology of the joint is improper and/or the information operation of the joint indicates improper operation,
• determining a recommendation on whether and/or how to treat the joint based on the information about the morphology and/or operation of the joint;
• and
• outputting the recommendation on whether and/or how to treat the joint.