*Article* **Leveraging Multivariable Linear Regression Analysis to Identify Patients with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Deficiency Using a Composite Index of the Knee Flexion and Muscle Force**

**Haoran Li <sup>1</sup> , Hongshi Huang 2 , Shuang Ren 2, \* and Qiguo Rong 1, \***


**Abstract:** Patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficiency (ACLD) tend to have altered lower extremity kinematics and dynamics. Clinical diagnosis of ACLD requires more objective and convenient evaluation criteria. Twenty-five patients with ACLD before ACL reconstruction and nine healthy volunteers were recruited. Five experimental jogging data sets of each participant were collected and calculated using a musculoskeletal model. The resulting knee flexion and muscle force data were analyzed using a *t*-test for characteristic points, which were the time points in the gait cycle when the most significant difference between the two groups was observed. The data of the characteristic points were processed with principal component analysis to generate a composite index for multivariable linear regression. The accuracy rate of the regression model in diagnosing patients with ACLD was 81.4%. This study demonstrates that the multivariable linear regression model and composite index can be used to diagnose patients with ACLD. The composite index and characteristic points can be clinically objective and can be used to extract effective information quickly and conveniently.

**Keywords:** composite index; characteristic points; multivariable linear regression; anterior cruciate ligament deficiency
