Résumé
In France, over 100,000 total knee replacements (TKR) are performed annually as of 2019. In select cases, patients may experience pain that cannot be attributed to a blood test (in the event of an infection) or an X-ray. X-rays offer a static representation of the knee that does not account for the dynamic kinematics and intricate complexities of knee movement. The objective of this thesis is to examine a novel dynamic medical imaging system for analysing the movement of orthopaedic prostheses, with a particular focus on a total knee prosthesis. At the outset of this thesis, a proof of concept of a portable dynamic imaging system enabled the first dynamic images of the femoral part of a metal knee prosthesis to be obtained. The detection principle is based on the detection of the secondary magnetic field generated by eddy currents induced on the metal by a primary magnetic field. The objective of the new contributions presented in this thesis is to enhance the system in several ways: The initial objective is to gain a deeper comprehension of the interaction between the metallic prosthesis and the magnetic field. The objective is to characterise the secondary magnetic field originating from prosthetic elements of various geometries, utilising simulations and practical 4D magnetic mapping, which encompasses the position (x, y, z) and value of the field at that point. This magnetic test bench is an analytical tool that will eventually facilitate the extension of this imaging system to other orthopaedic prostheses, including the hip, shoulder and ankle. The second objective is to miniaturise the magnetic imaging system and enhance its spatial resolution by implementing two magnetoresistive sensor technologies, namely AMR and TMR, to replace the current detectors based on multi-turn coils.