June Featured Author

Louis DeFrate, PhD
Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

From the June issue: Determination of the Position of the Knee at the Time of an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture for Male Versus Female Patients by an Analysis of Bone Bruises

Podcast: Listen to Dr. DeFrate discuss his article in the June issue.

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Dr. DeFrate is the Frank H. Bassett III, M.D. Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University. He also holds appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. DeFrate’s research focuses on the application of engineering principles to investigate clinically relevant problems related to the musculoskeletal system. Dr. DeFrate has published widely on the use of MR imaging and biplanar radiography to measure in vivo joint function and cartilage loading in normal subjects as well as those at high risk for the development of osteoarthritis. Dr. DeFrate has also used these techniques to quantify in vivo ligament and tendon deformation.

Additionally, he has recently developed a new “stress test” of the knee for evaluating changes in the mechanical response to activities of daily living. By combining these approaches with MRI sequences that non-invasively quantify tissue composition as well as local and systemic biomarkers of tissue metabolism, innovative analyses of joint health can be performed. Using this approach, Dr. DeFrate has led a number of clinical research projects at Duke University Medical Center, including several NIH grants related to cartilage degeneration after ligament injury and ACL injury mechanisms. His work in this area has recently been acknowledged by the 2016 Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS).

Selected Other Published Work in AJSM

Owusu-Akyaw KA, Kim SY, Spritzer CE, Collins AT, Englander ZA, Utturkar GM, Garrett WE, DeFrate LE. Determination of the Position of the Knee at the Time of an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture for Male Versus Female Patients by an Analysis of Bone Bruises. Am J Sports Med. 2018. In press.

Liu B, Lad NK, Collins AT, Ganapathy PK, Utturkar GM, McNulty AL, Spritzer CE, Moorman CT 3rd, Sutter EG, Garrett WE, DeFrate LE. In Vivo Tibial Cartilage Strains in Regions of Cartilage-to-Cartilage Contact and Cartilage-to-Meniscus Contact in Response to Walking. Am J Sports Med. 2017 Oct;45(12):2817-2823.

Kim SY, Spritzer CE, Utturkar GM, Toth AP, Garrett WE, DeFrate LE. Knee Kinematics During Noncontact Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury as Determined From Bone Bruise Location. Am J Sports Med. 2015 Oct;43(10):2515-21.

Sutter EG, Widmyer MR, Utturkar GM, Spritzer CE, Garrett WE Jr, DeFrate LE. In vivo measurement of localized tibiofemoral cartilage strains in response to dynamic activity. Am J Sports Med. 2015 Feb;43(2):370-6.

Wainright WB, Spritzer CE, Lee JY, Easley ME, DeOrio JK, Nunley JA, DeFrate LE. The effect of modified Broström-Gould repair for lateral ankle instability on in vivo tibiotalar kinematics. Am J Sports Med. 2012 Sep;40(9):2099-104.

Caputo AM, Lee JY, Spritzer CE, Easley ME, DeOrio JK, Nunley JA 2nd, DeFrate LE. In vivo kinematics of the tibiotalar joint after lateral ankle instability. Am J Sports Med. 2009 Nov;37(11):2241-8.

Abebe ES, Moorman CT 3rd, Dziedzic TS, Spritzer CE, Cothran RL, Taylor DC, Garrett WE Jr, DeFrate LE. Femoral tunnel placement during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: an in vivo imaging analysis comparing transtibial and 2-incision tibial tunnel-independent techniques. Am J Sports Med. 2009 Oct;37(10):1904-11.

Van de Velde SK, Gill TJ, DeFrate LE, Papannagari R, Li G. The effect of anterior cruciate ligament deficiency and reconstruction on the patellofemoral joint. Am J Sports Med. 2008 Jun;36(6):1150-9.

Jordan SS, DeFrate LE, Nha KW, Papannagari R, Gill TJ, Li G. The in vivo kinematics of the anteromedial and posterolateral bundles of the anterior cruciate ligament during weightbearing knee flexion. Am J Sports Med. 2007 Apr;35(4):547-54.

DeFrate LE, Papannagari R, Gill TJ, Moses JM, Pathare NP, Li G. The 6 degrees of freedom kinematics of the knee after anterior cruciate ligament deficiency: an in vivo imaging analysis. Am J Sports Med. 2006 Aug;34(8):1240-6.