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Although conventional radiography is still the most commonly used imaging modality for clinical management of patients with osteoarthritis, and loss of joint space width represents the only end point approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for structural disease progression in clinical trials, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging–based studies have revealed some of the limitations of radiography.
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The ability of MR to image the knee as a whole organ and to directly and three-dimensionally assess cartilage morphology and composition plays a crucial role in understanding the natural history of the disease and in the search for new therapies.
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MR imaging of osteoarthritis is classified into the following approaches: semiquantitative, quantitative, and compositional.
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Ultrasonography can also be useful to evaluate synovial disorders in osteoarthritis, particularly in the hand.
Conventional radiography
Overview
Radiography is the simplest and least expensive imaging technique. It can detect bony features associated with osteoarthritis (OA), including marginal osteophytes, subchondral sclerosis, and subchondral cysts.
Radiography can also determine joint space width (JSW), an indirect surrogate of cartilage thickness and meniscal integrity, but precise measurement of each of these articular structures is not possible with radiography.
Despite this drawback, slowing of radiographically detected joint space narrowing (JSN) is the only structural end point currently accepted by regulatory bodies in the United States (US Food and Drug Administration) to prove efficacy of disease-modifying OA drugs in phase-III clinical trials. OA is radiographically defined by the presence of osteophytes.
Development of criteria for the classification and reporting of osteoarthritis. Classification of osteoarthritis of the knee. Diagnostic and Therapeutic Criteria Committee of the American Rheumatism Association.
Progression of JSN is the most commonly used criterion for the assessment of OA progression and the complete loss of JSW characterized by bone-on-bone contact is one of the indicators for joint replacement.
However, previously held beliefs that JSN and its changes are the only visible evidence of cartilage damage have been shown to be incorrect. Recent studies have shown that alterations in the meniscus, such as meniscal extrusion or subluxation, also contribute to JSN.
The lack of sensitivity and specificity of radiography for the detection of articular tissue damage associated with OA, and its poor sensitivity to change at follow-up imaging, are inherent limitations of radiography.
Another limitation is the presence of variations in semiflexed knee positioning, which occur during image acquisition in trials and clinical practice despite standardization. Kinds and colleagues
Influence of variation in semiflexed knee positioning during image acquisition on separate quantitative radiographic parameters of osteoarthritis, measured by knee images digital analysis.
showed that such variations have significant influence on the quantitative measurement of various radiographic parameters of OA including JSW. Thus, better standardization needs to be achieved during radiographic acquisition. Despite these limitations, radiography remains the gold standard for structural modification in clinical trials of knee OA.
Semiquantitative Assessments of Knee OA Features
The severity of OA can be estimated using semiquantitative scoring systems. Published atlases provide images that represent specific grades.
(KL) grade is a widely accepted scheme used for defining the presence or absence of OA, usually using grade 2 disease as the threshold. However, KL grading has limitations; in particular, KL grade 3 includes all degrees of JSN, regardless of the extent. Felson and colleagues
suggested a modification of KL grading to improve the sensitivity to change in longitudinal knee OA studies. They recommend that OA be defined by a combination of joint space loss and definite osteophytes on radiography in a knee that did not have this combination on the previous radiographic assessment. For OA progression, they recommend a focus on JSN alone using either a semiquantitative
takes a different approach and grades tibiofemoral JSW and osteophytes separately for each compartment of the knee. This compartmental scoring seems to be more sensitive to longitudinal radiographic changes than KL grading. A recent study using data from the OA Initiative highlighted the importance of centralized radiographic assessment in regard to observer reliability, because even expert readers apply different thresholds when scoring JSN.
Different thresholds for detecting osteophytes and joint space narrowing exist between the site investigators and the centralized reader in a multicenter knee osteoarthritis study–data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
Quantitative measures of JSW use a ruler, either a physical device or a software application, to measure the JSW as the distance between the projected femoral and tibial margins on the image (Fig. 1). The femoral margin is defined as the projected edge of the bone, whereas the software usually determines the tibial margin as a bright band corresponding with the projection of the X-ray beam through the radiodense cortical shell at the base of the tibial plateau. Quantification of JSW using image processing software requires a digital version of the image, which can be provided for plain films by a radiographic film digitizer, or files can be analyzed directly for fully digital modalities such as computed radiography and digital radiography. Minimum JSW is the standard metric, but some groups have investigated location-specific JSW as well.
Study of location specific lateral compartment radiographic joint space width for knee osteoarthritis progression: analysis of longitudinal data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI).
Fig. 1Automated computer measurement of JSW of the medial tibial plateau of the knee. Minimum JSW is measured using software (Holy’s software, Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France) in which the joint space contour is automatically delineated by the computer with the help of an edge-based algorithm. The area of measurement of minimum JSW is defined by 2 vertical lines and 2 horizontal lines obtained by a single click on the nonosteophytic outer edge of the medial femoral condyle and a single click on the inner edge of the medial tibial plateau close to the articular surface. Within these landmarks, the delineation of the bone edges of the medial femoral condyle and medial tibial plateau floor, in addition to the minimum JSW, are automatically obtained.
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Various degrees of responsiveness have been observed depending on the degree of OA severity, length of the follow-up, and the knee positioning protocol.
Study of location specific lateral compartment radiographic joint space width for knee osteoarthritis progression: analysis of longitudinal data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI).
Comparison of radiographic joint space width with magnetic resonance imaging cartilage morphometry: analysis of longitudinal data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
Measurements of JSW obtained from radiographs of knee OA have been found to be reliable, especially when the study lasted longer than 2 years and when the radiographs were obtained with the knee in a standardized flexed position.
Studies of hip OA have shown conflicting results when correlating JSW and symptoms. However, several studies have shown that JSW can predict hip joint replacement.
associated leg length inequality of greater than or equal to 1 cm with prevalent radiographic and symptomatic OA in the shorter leg, and increased odds of progressive OA in the shorter leg over 30 months. This study showed that leg length inequality should be a modifiable risk factor for knee OA. Duryea and colleagues
Comparison of radiographic joint space width with magnetic resonance imaging cartilage morphometry: analysis of longitudinal data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
compared the responsiveness of radiographic JSW using automated software with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging–derived measures of cartilage morphometry for OA progression. Measures of location-specific JSW, using a software analysis of digital knee radiographic images, were comparable with MR imaging in detecting OA progression. Although the limitations of radiography are known, the study showed that, when the lower cost and greater accessibility of radiography are compared with MR imaging, radiography still has a role to play in OA trials. A clinical trial by Mazzuca and colleagues
showed that varus malalignment of the lower limb negated the slowing of structural progression of medial JSN by doxycycline. It remains to be seen whether the same effect can be obtained on MR imaging–based evaluation of OA progression.
Using data from the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee study, Kinds and colleagues
Evaluation of separate quantitative radiographic features adds to the prediction of incident radiographic osteoarthritis in individuals with recent onset of knee pain: 5-year follow-up in the CHECK cohort.
showed that measuring osteophyte area (odds ratio [OR] 7.0) and minimum JSW (OR 0.7), in addition to demographic and clinical characteristics, improved the prediction of radiographic OA occurring 5 years later (area under curve receiver operating characteristic 0.74 vs 0.64 without radiographic features) in patients with knee pain at baseline. A cross-sectional study based on the same cohort of patients showed that, in patients with early symptomatic knee OA, osteophytosis, bony enlargement, crepitus, pain, and higher body mass index (BMI) were associated with lower knee flexion.
Determinants of range of joint motion in patients with early symptomatic osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee: an exploratory study in the CHECK cohort.
JSN was associated with lower range of motion in all planes. In addition, osteophytosis, flattening of the femoral head, femoral buttressing, pain, morning stiffness, male gender, and higher BMI were found to be associated with poorer range of motion in the hip, in 2 planes.
Two publications from a large-scale Japanese population-based study showed that occupational activities involving kneeling and squatting,
Association of knee osteoarthritis with the accumulation of metabolic risk factors such as overweight, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and impaired glucose tolerance in Japanese men and women: the ROAD study.
were associated with lower medial minimum JSW compared with controls. Another cross-sectional study found that a low level of vitamin D was associated with knee pain but not radiographic OA.
A longitudinal study by the same group showed that accumulation of metabolic syndrome components (obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and impaired glucose tolerance) is significantly related to occurrence and progression of radiographic knee OA.
Accumulation of metabolic risk factors such as overweight, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and impaired glucose tolerance raises the risk of occurrence and progression of knee osteoarthritis: a 3-year follow-up of the ROAD study.
Two older methods (bone texture analysis and tomosynthesis) have experienced a revival lately. Bone texture analysis extracts information on two-dimensional trabecular bone texture from conventional radiography that directly relates to three-dimensional bone structure.
A recent study showed that bone texture may be a predictor of progression of tibiofemoral OA. Whether bone texture correlates with other changes of subchondral bone, such as MR imaging–detected bone marrow lesions (BMLs) or sclerosis, remains to be seen. Tomosynthesis generates an arbitrary number of section images from a single pass of the X-ray tube. It has been shown that digital tomosynthesis improves sensitivity for depicting lesions in the chest, the breast, and in rheumatoid arthritis.
showed that tomosynthesis is more sensitive to detection of osteophytes and subchondral cysts than radiography, using 3-T MR imaging as the reference, in the context of knee OA. The clinical availability of these systems is currently limited, but the potential of this technique for OA research might be worth exploring.
MR imaging
Although not routinely used in clinical management of patients with OA, MR has become a key imaging tool for OA research
because of its ability to visualize disorders that are not detected on radiography (ie, articular cartilage, menisci, ligaments, synovium, capsular structures, fluid collections, and bone marrow; Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5).
Prevalence of abnormalities in knees detected by MRI in adults without knee osteoarthritis: population based observational study (Framingham Osteoarthritis Study).
Longitudinal assessment of cyst-like lesions of the knee and their relation to radiographic osteoarthritis and MRI-detected effusion and synovitis in patients with knee pain.
Semiquantitative assessment of subchondral bone marrow edema-like lesions and subchondral cysts of the knee at 3T MRI: a comparison between intermediate-weighted fat-suppressed spin echo and dual echo steady state sequences.
Presence of MRI-detected joint effusion and synovitis increases the risk of cartilage loss in knees without osteoarthritis at 30-month follow-up: the MOST study.
Presence of MRI-detected joint effusion and synovitis increases the risk of cartilage loss in knees without osteoarthritis at 30-month follow-up: the MOST study.
Tibiofemoral OA on MR imaging is defined as either (1) the presence of both definite osteophyte formation and full-thickness cartilage loss, or (2) the presence of 1 of the features in (1) and 1 of the following: subchondral BML or cyst not associated with meniscal or ligamentous attachments; meniscal subluxation, maceration, or degenerative (horizontal) tear; partial thickness cartilage loss; and bone attrition.
With MR imaging, the following four things can be achieved:
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The joint can be evaluated as a whole organ
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Pathologic changes of preradiographic OA can be detected at an earlier stage of the disease
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Physiologic changes within joint tissues (eg, cartilage and menisci) can be assessed before morphologic changes become apparent
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Multiple tissue changes can be monitored simultaneously over several time points (Fig. 6)
Fig. 6Development of cartilage damage in early OA. (A) Sagittal intermediate-weighted fat-saturated image shows regular articular chondral surface without focal or diffuse cartilage damage. (B) Twelve-month follow-up image of the same knee at the identical section shows early intrachondral degeneration reflected as hyperintensity within the central weight-bearing region of the tibial cartilage but not altering the articular surface (arrow). (C) Twenty-four-month examination depicts focal full-thickness cartilage defect reaching the subchondral plateau at the same location (arrowhead). In addition, there is incident superficial cartilage damage at the central part of the lateral femoral condyle adjacent to the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus (arrow). (D) Thirty-six-month follow-up image shows progression to widespread full-thickness cartilage loss in the central weight-bearing part of the lateral tibia (arrowheads). In addition, there is incident full-thickness damage at the posterior aspect of the lateral femoral condyle (thin arrows). Note the presence of the adjacent BMLs, which often accompany cartilage damage as in this case.
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Fig. 2Examples of 1.5-T MR imaging of advanced OA. (A) Sagittal T1-weighted MR image of posttraumatic ankle OA shows large periarticular osteophytes (arrows). (B) Coronal T2-weighted fat-suppressed MR image shows periarticular subchondral BMLs (white arrows). (C) Sagittal T2-weighted MR image of lumbar spine OA shows disc space narrowing at L2 to L3 and at L5 to S1 (arrowheads). There is an additional inferiorly displaced disc herniation at L3 to L4 (white arrow). (D) Axial T2-weighted gradient-echo MR image at the level of L3 to L4 shows hypertrophic facet joint OA (white arrows) and a small medial disc herniation (arrowhead). (E) Coronal short tau inversion recovery (STIR) MR image of the lumbar spine shows peridiscal edemalike lesions at L2 to L3 and at L4 to L5 (arrows). Note the peridiscal lateral osteophytes (arrowheads). (F) Sagittal T1-weighted MR image of advanced shoulder OA shows large humeral osteophytes (arrowheads) and severe JSN and cartilage loss (arrow).
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Fig. 3Examples of 1.0-T and 3.0-T MR imaging of knee OA. (A) Sagittal proton density–weighted fat-suppressed 1.0-T MR image shows a subchondral BML in the anterior medial femur (arrowheads) associated with superficial cartilage damage. (B) Sagittal proton density–weighted fat-suppressed 3.0-T MR image shows a subchondral BML in the anterior lateral femur (arrowhead) and femoral and tibial subchondral cysts (arrows).
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Fig. 4Synovial activation in knee OA. (A) Sagittal proton density–weighted fat-suppressed MR image shows joint effusion depicted as fluid-equivalent signal in the articular cavity (black arrowheads). (B) Sagittal T1-weighted fat-suppressed contrast-enhanced MR image of the same knee shows joint effusion depicted as hypointense signal within the articular cavity (white arrowheads). Suprapatellar and infrapatellar synovial thickening is visualized (white arrows). Note that the extent of synovial thickening can only be appreciated on T1-weighted contrast-enhanced MR images.
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Fig. 5Longitudinal semiquantitative assessment of knee OA. (A) Baseline coronal double-echo steady state MR image shows central osteophytes scored for the medial and lateral compartments (arrowheads). Subchondral BMLs are shown (arrows). (B) MR image at 12-month follow-up shows increasing cartilage loss in the medial compartment but a decrease of the periarticular BMLs (arrow). The size of the osteophytes has not changed. (C) Sagittal proton density–weighted fat-suppressed MR image shows a large BML in the central weight-bearing part of the medial femur (arrowheads). (D) MR image at 12-month follow-up shows a decrease in the size and signal intensity of the BML (arrows). Note that the BML is better depicted on the spin-echo images (C, D) than on the gradient-echo images (A, B).
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Assessment of synovitis with contrast-enhanced MRI using a whole-joint semiquantitative scoring system in people with, or at high risk of, knee osteoarthritis: the MOST study.
with implications for future OA clinical trials. Systematic reviews have shown that MR imaging biomarkers in OA have concurrent and predictive validity, with good responsiveness and reliability.
The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)–US Food and Drug Administration working group now recommends MR imaging as a suitable imaging tool for cartilage morphology in clinical trials.
Recent advances in the use of MR as an imaging tool in OA research are discussed later in this article. First, MR imaging–based semiquantitative OA scoring systems that were published after 2008 are reviewed. Second, research efforts in quantitative MR imaging techniques are described. Third, developments in compositional/physiologic MR imaging techniques are reviewed.
Semiquantitative MR Imaging Scoring Systems for Knee OA
In addition to the three well-established scoring systems (the Whole-organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score [WORMS],
MRI assessment of knee osteoarthritis: Knee Osteoarthritis Scoring System (KOSS)–inter-observer and intraobserver reproducibility of a compartment-based scoring system.
The reliability of a new scoring system for knee osteoarthritis MRI and the validity of bone marrow lesion assessment: BLOKS (Boston Leeds Osteoarthritis Knee Score).
a new scoring system called the MR Imaging Osteoarthritis Knee Score (MOAKS) has been added to the literature (Tables 1 and 2). Of these systems, WORMS and BLOKS have been widely disseminated and used, although only a limited number of studies have directly compared the two systems. Two recent studies by Lynch and colleagues
Comparison of BLOKS and WORMS scoring systems part I. Cross sectional comparison of methods to assess cartilage morphology, meniscal damage and bone marrow lesions on knee MRI: data from the osteoarthritis initiative.
Comparison of BLOKS and WORMS scoring systems part II. Longitudinal assessment of knee MRIs for osteoarthritis and suggested approach based on their performance: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
were helpful in identifying the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two systems in regard to certain features assumed to be most relevant to the natural history of the disease, including cartilage, meniscus, and BMLs. WORMS and BLOKS have weaknesses and it may be difficult for investigators to choose which is more suitable for the particular aims of the study they are planning. For instance, the WORMS meniscal scoring method mixes multiple constructs, whereas application of the BML scoring system in BLOKS is cumbersome and complex, and some of the scoring seems redundant. In addition, both of these systems have undergone unpublished modifications that make it difficult for general readers to determine the differences between the original description and how they have been applied in later research. The use of within-grade changes for longitudinal assessment of cartilage damage and BMLs is a good example.
Predictive validity of within-grade scoring of longitudinal changes of MRI-based cartilage morphology and bone marrow lesion assessment in the tibio-femoral joint - the MOST Study.
Within-grade scoring describes progression or improvement of a lesion that does not meet the criteria of a full grade change but does represent a definite visual change. For example, in the original publication of WORMS, there was no mention of scoring of within-grade changes because the WORMS publication only used a cross-sectional dataset. It has become common practice to incorporate these within-grade changes whenever longitudinal cartilage assessment is contemplated. A recent study by Roemer and colleagues
Predictive validity of within-grade scoring of longitudinal changes of MRI-based cartilage morphology and bone marrow lesion assessment in the tibio-femoral joint - the MOST Study.
showed that within-grade changes in semiquantitative MR imaging assessment of cartilage and BMLs are valid and their use may increase the sensitivity of semiquantitative readings in detecting longitudinal changes in these structures.
Table 1Comparison of MR imaging features scored by the 4 semiquantitative MR imaging scoring systems
MR Imaging Features
BLOKS
WORMS
MOAKS
KOSS
Cartilage
Uses 2 scores Score 1: subregional approach (A) Percentage of any cartilage loss in subregion (B) Percentage of full-thickness cartilage loss in subregion Score 2: site-specific approach. Scoring of cartilage thickness at 11 specific locations (not subregions) from 0 (none) to 2 (full-thickness loss)
Subregional approach: scored from 0 to 6 depending on depth and extent of cartilage loss Intrachondral cartilage signal is scored as present or absent
Subregional approach: each articular cartilage region is graded from 0 to 3 for size of any cartilage loss as a percentage of surface area of each individual region surface, and percentage in this subregion that is full-thickness loss
Subregional approach: focal and diffuse defects are differentiated. Depth of lesions is scored from 0 to 3 Diameter of lesions is scored from 0 to 3 Osteochondral defects are scored separately
BMLs
Scoring of individual lesions 3 different aspects of BMLs are scored: (A) Size of BML scored from 0 to 3 concerning percentage of subregional bone volume (B) Percentage of surface area adjacent to subchondral plate (C) Percentage of BML that is noncystic
Summed BML size/volume for subregion from 0 to 3 based on percentage of subregional bone volume
Summed BML size/volume for subregion from 0 to 3 based on percentage of subregional bone volume Number of BMLs counted Percentage of the volume of each BML that is noncystic is graded from 0 to 3
Scoring of individual lesions from 0 to 3 based on maximum diameter of lesion
Subchondral cysts
Scored together with BMLs
Summed cyst size/volume for subregion from 0 to 3 in regard to percentage of subregional bone volume
Scored together with BMLs
Scoring of individual lesions from 0 to 3 based on maximum diameter of lesion
Osteophytes
Scored from 0 to 3 at 12 sites
Scored from 0 to 7 at 16 sites
Same as BLOKS: scored from 0 to 3 at 12 sites
Scored from 0 to 3 Marginal intercondylar and central osteophytes are differentiated Locations/sites of osteophytes scoring not included
Bone attrition
Not scored
Scored from 0 to 3 in 14 subregions
Not scored
Not scored
Effusion
Scored from 0 to 3
Scored from 0 to 3
Scored from 0 to 3 (termed effusion synovitis)
Scored from 0 to 3
Synovitis
(A) Scoring of size of signal changes in Hoffa fat pad (B) Five additional sites scored as present or absent
Combined effusion/synovitis score
Scored from 0 to 3 (called Hoffa synovitis)
Synovial thickening scored as present or absent
Meniscal status
Intrasubstance signal changes in anterior horn, body, posterior horn scored separately in medial/lateral meniscus Presence/absence scored for the following:
Meniscal intrasubstance degeneration scored from 0 to 3
Meniscal extrusion
Scored as medial and lateral extrusion on coronal image, and anterior extrusion for medial or lateral meniscus on sagittal image from 0 to 3
Not scored
Same as BLOKS
Scored on coronal image from 0 to 3
Ligaments
Cruciate ligaments scored as normal or complete tear Associated insertional BMLs are scored in tibia and in femur Collateral ligaments not scored
Cruciate ligaments and collateral ligaments scored as intact or torn
Same as BLOKS
Not scored
Periarticular features
Features are scored as present or absent:
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Patellar tendon signal, pes anserine bursitis, iliotibial band signal, popliteal cyst, infrapatellar bursa, prepatellar bursa, ganglion cysts of the tibiofibular joint, meniscus, anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, other
Popliteal cysts, anserine bursitis, semimembranosus bursa, meniscal cyst, infrapatellar bursitis, prepatellar bursitis, tibiofibular cyst scored from 0 to 3
Same as BLOKS
Popliteal cysts only, scored from 0 to 3
Loose bodies
Scored as present or absent
Scored from 0 to 3 depending on number of loose bodies
Coronal intermediate-weighted 2D turbo spin echo, sagittal 3D DESS with axial/coronal reformation, sagittal intermediate-weighted fat-suppressed fast spin echo
Coronal/sagittal T2-weighted and proton density–weighted, sagittal 3D SPGR, axial proton density–weighted and axial T2-weighted fat suppressed
Based on 10 knees Weighted κ between 0.51 (meniscal extrusion) and 0.79 (meniscal tear)
Based on 19 knees ICC between 0.74 (bone marrow abnormalities and synovitis/effusion) and 0.99 (cartilage)
Based on 20 knees Weighted κ between 0.36 (tibial cartilage area) and 1.00 (patellar BML percentage cyst) Agreement between 55% (tibial osteophytes) and 100% (patellar BML percentage cyst)
Based on 25 knees Weighted κ between 0.57 (osteochondral defects) and 0.88 (bone marrow edema)
Intrareader reliability
Not presented
Not presented
Based on 20 knees Weighted κ between 0.42 (Hoffa synovitis) and 1.00 (patellar BML size and medial meniscal morphology) Agreement between 55% (Hoffa synovitis) and 100% (patellar BML size and medial meniscal morphology)
Based on 25 knees Weighted κ between 0.56 (intrasubstance meniscal degeneration) and 0.91 (bone marrow edema and Baker cyst)
Abbreviations: DESS, dual-echo steady state; FLASH, fast low-angle shot; ICC, Intraclass correlation coefficient; SPGR, spoiled gradient echo; 2D, two dimensional; 3D, three dimensional.
There has never been a published correction or an addendum to the original WORMS publication. The effort to evolve semiquantitative scoring methods that circumvent the limitations of WORMS and BLOKS led to the development of MOAKS. By integrating expert readers' experience with all of the available scoring tools and the published data comparing different scoring systems, MOAKS refined the scoring of BMLs, added subregional assessment, omitted some redundancy in cartilage and BML scoring, and refined elements of meniscal morphology.
For BML size assessment, the threshold for grading in terms of percentage of subregional volume was modified. Also, rather than a lesion-based approach, the subregion-based approach of WORMS was incorporated. The number of lesions is counted, but the percentage of BML in the area of the adjacent subchondral plate is no longer recorded. There is only one cartilage score using a WORMS-like subregional approach. Synovitis as detected in the form of high signal intensity in the Hoffa fat pad is now called Hoffa synovitis. Effusion was renamed effusion synovitis, because high signal within the joint cavity on T2-weighted images incorporates both joint fluid (ie, effusion) and synovial thickening (ie, synovitis). A detailed differentiation of the different types of meniscal tears, meniscal hypertrophy, partial maceration, and progressive partial maceration has been incorporated, allowing detailed assessment of meniscal damage over time (Fig. 7). The scoring of noncystic BML percentage, osteophytes, meniscal extrusion and signal, ligaments, and periarticular features remain unchanged from BLOKS.
Fig. 7Progression of meniscal damage over time. (A) Sagittal intermediate-weighted fat-saturated image shows intrameniscal high signal representing mucoid degeneration (arrow) in the posterior horn of the medial meniscus that does not reach the meniscal surface. No tear is seen and there is no signal change in the anterior horn. (B) Twelve-month follow-up examination depicts development of the horizontal-oblique tear in the posterior horn. Meniscal hyperintensity now reaches the meniscal undersurface (arrowhead). In addition, there is incident mucoid degeneration in the anterior horn (arrow). (C) At 36-month follow-up, an incident horizontal tear in the anterior horn is seen. In addition, meniscal cysts communicating with horizontal tears of the anterior horn (arrowhead) and posterior horn (thick arrow) are visible. Note the subchondral BML adjacent to the full-thickness cartilage damage in the posterior aspect of the lateral tibial plateau (thin arrow).
Assessment of synovitis with contrast-enhanced MRI using a whole-joint semiquantitative scoring system in people with, or at high risk of, knee osteoarthritis: the MOST study.
Although synovitis can be evaluated with non–contrast-enhanced MR imaging by using the presence of signal changes in Hoffa fat pad or joint effusion as an indirect marker of synovitis, only contrast-enhanced MR imaging can reveal the extent of synovial inflammation (see Fig. 4).
Comparing non-enhanced and enhanced sequences in the assessment of effusion and synovitis in knee OA: associations with clinical, macroscopic and microscopic features.
Table 3 summarizes two comprehensive scoring systems for synovitis in knee OA based on contrast-enhanced MR imaging. These scoring systems could potentially be used in clinical trials of new OA drugs that target synovitis.
Assessment of synovitis with contrast-enhanced MRI using a whole-joint semiquantitative scoring system in people with, or at high risk of, knee osteoarthritis: the MOST study.
Assessment of synovitis with contrast-enhanced MRI using a whole-joint semiquantitative scoring system in people with, or at high risk of, knee osteoarthritis: the MOST study.
6 sites: Medial and lateral parapatellar recess, suprapatellar pouch, and infrapatellar fat pad (graded 0–3) Medial and lateral posterior condyle (scored 0 or 1)
11 sites: Medial and lateral parapatellar recess, suprapatellar, infrapatellar, intercondylar, medial and lateral perimeniscal, and adjacent to anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, adjacent to loose bodies, within Baker cyst
Contrast administration
Gd-DTPA 0.2 mL (0.1 mmol)/kg body weight Postcontrast axial image acquired 2 min after injection, immediately followed by sagittal image
Gd-DTPA 0.2 mL (0.1 mmol)/kg body weight Postcontrast axial image acquired 2 min after injection, immediately followed by sagittal image
0, maximal synovial thickness <2 mm; 1, 2–4 mm; 2, greater than 4 mm
Analysis approach
Synovitis categories: 1, normal or questionable (<4 sites scored as 1 and all other sites scored as 0); 2, some (≥4 sites scored as 1 and/or ≤1 site scored as 2); 3, a lot (≥2 sites scored as 2 and no score of 3); 4, extensive (≥1 site scored as 3)
Whole-knee synovitis scores of 11 sites were summed and categorized: 0–4, normal or equivocal; 5–8, mild synovitis; 9–12, moderate synovitis; ≥13, severe synovitis
Semiquantitative MR Imaging Whole-organ Scoring System for Hand OA
Conventional radiography is still the imaging modality of choice clinically for OA of the hand, but the use of more sensitive imaging techniques such as ultrasonography and MR imaging is becoming more common, especially for research purposes. However, the literature concerning MR imaging of pathologic features of hand OA is still sparse, and studies have been performed without applying standardized methods.
A high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging study of distal interphalangeal joint arthropathy in psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis: are they the same?.
Combined high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and histological examination to explore the role of ligaments and tendons in the phenotypic expression of early hand osteoarthritis.
Reliability and construct validity of ultrasonography of soft tissue and destructive changes in erosive osteoarthritis of the interphalangeal finger joints: a comparison with MRI.
proposed a semiquantitative MR imaging scoring system for hand OA features, called the Oslo Hand OA MR Imaging Score: it incorporates osteophyte presence and JSN (0–3 scale) and malalignment (absence/presence) in analog to the OARSI atlas.
Cysts and collateral ligament disorders are also recorded as absent or present. These features are assessed at 8 locations (distal interphalangeal [DIP] and proximal interphalangeal [PIP]) joints of the second, third, fourth, and fifth fingers) of the dominant hand using an extremity 1.0-T MR system. An atlas is included in the publication to facilitate scoring. Each MR image feature was analyzed and stratified for joint groups and as aggregated scores (ie, DIP and PIP). Key features such as synovitis, flexor tenosynovitis, erosions, osteophytes, JSN, and BMLs showed good to very good intrareader and inter-reader reliability.
Health-related quality of life in women with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis: a comparison with rheumatoid arthritis patients, healthy controls, and normative data.
showed that MR imaging could detect approximately twice as many joints with erosions and osteophytes as conventional radiography (P<.001), but identification of JSN, cysts, and malalignment was similar. The prevalence of most MR imaging features increased with radiographic severity, but synovitis was more frequent in joints with mild OA than with moderate/severe OA. The same group of investigators also showed in another study that MR imaging–assessed moderate/severe synovitis, BMLs, erosions, attrition, and osteophytes were associated with joint tenderness independently of each other.
Associations between MRI-defined synovitis, bone marrow lesions and structural features and measures of pain and physical function in hand osteoarthritis.
Weaker associations were found between the sum score of MR imaging–defined attrition and the Functional Index of Hand Osteoarthritis (FIHOA), and between the sum score of osteophytes and grip strength.
Associations between MRI-defined synovitis, bone marrow lesions and structural features and measures of pain and physical function in hand osteoarthritis.
These studies showed that some of the semiquantitatively assessed MR imaging features of hand OA may be potential targets for therapeutic interventions.
Semiquantitative MR Imaging Whole-organ Scoring System for Hip OA
Compared with knee OA, few studies have focused on the hip joint, and only 1 used an approach similar to the whole-organ evaluation of knee OA.
The hip joint has a spherical structure and its thin covering of articular hyaline cartilage makes MR imaging assessment of the hip more challenging than the knee.
Patients with OA of the hip often have to be followed for a long time to assess the natural course of joint disorders, or to evaluate surgical or pharmacologic treatment effects. Noninvasive follow-up methods are necessary, and surrogate markers based on MR imaging would be useful. A novel tool for use in observational studies and clinical trials of hip joints, a whole-organ semiquantitative multi-feature scoring method called the Hip Osteoarthritis MRI Scoring System (HOAMS), was therefore introduced by Roemer and colleagues
In HOAMS, 14 articular features are assessed: cartilage morphology, subchondral BMLs, subchondral cysts, osteophytes, acetabular labrum, synovitis (only scored when contrast-enhanced sequences were available), joint effusion, loose bodies, attrition, dysplasia, trochanteric bursitis/insertional tendonitis of the greater trochanter, labral hypertrophy, paralabral cysts, and herniation pits at the superolateral femoral neck. Cartilage and osteophytes are scored on a scale from 0 to 4: BMLs, subchondral cysts, and labral disorders are graded 0 to 3; synovitis and effusion are graded 0 to 2; and all other lesions are scored 0 (absent) or 1 (present). Cartilage morphology is scored in 9 subregions, and BMLs and subchondral cysts in 15 subregions for acetabular and femoral subchondral bone marrow assessment. MR imaging sequences acquired in the protocol include coronal and axial non–fat-suppressed T1-weighted spin echo, coronal and sagittal proton density–weighted fat-suppressed fast spin echo, and, where indicated, coronal and axial contrast-enhanced T1-weighted sequences.
Whether this scoring tool is similarly applicable to longitudinal studies, particularly with regard to its responsiveness and predictive validity, remains to be seen. HOAMS showed satisfactory reliability and good agreement concerning intraobserver and interobserver assessment, but further validation, assessment of responsiveness, and iterative refinement of the scoring system are still needed to maximize its usefulness in clinical trials and epidemiologic studies.
Quantitative Cartilage Morphometry
Quantitative measurement of cartilage morphology segments the cartilage image (Figs. 8 and 9) and exploits the three-dimensional nature of MR imaging data sets to evaluate tissue dimensions (such as thickness and volume) or signal as continuous variables. Examples of nomenclature for MR imaging–based cartilage measures were proposed by Eckstein and colleagues
: dAB, denuded area of subchondral bone; tAB, total area of subchondral bone; ThCtAB.Me, mean cartilage thickness over the tAB; VC, cartilage volume. Because many of these measures are strongly related, Buck and colleagues
identified an efficient subset of core measures (tAB and dAB) that can provide a comprehensive description of cartilage morphology and its longitudinal changes in knees with or without OA. The same group also proposed a strategy (the ordered values approach) for more efficiently analyzing longitudinal changes in (subregional) cartilage thickness
Does the use of ordered values of subregional change in cartilage thickness improve the detection of disease progression in longitudinal studies of osteoarthritis?.
and found that determining the magnitude of subregional cartilage thickness changes independent of anatomic location provided improved discrimination between OA participants and healthy subjects longitudinally. Further, the ordered values approach was found to be superior in detecting risk factors of OA progression.
MRI-based extended ordered values more efficiently differentiate cartilage loss in knees with and without joint space narrowing than region-specific approaches using MRI or radiography–data from the OA initiative.
proposed an extended ordered values approach with better discrimination of cartilage thickness changes in KL grade 2 versus KL grade 3 knees than measures of total plate and subregional cartilage thickness or changes in radiographic JSW.
Fig. 8Knee MR image obtained with spoiled gradient-echo sequences with water excitation, in the same person. (A) Sagittal image; (B) axial image; (C) coronal image; (D) same coronal image with the medial tibial cartilage marked (segmented) blue, medial femoral cartilage marked yellow, lateral tibial cartilage marked green, and lateral femoral cartilage marked red.
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
examined the associations between nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and changes in knee cartilage volume. Comparing users of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors with NSAIDs users, the latter had more knee cartilage volume loss. After evaluating the effect of celecoxib on cartilage volume loss over 1 year in knee OA, Raynauld and colleagues
An open-label pilot study evaluating by magnetic resonance imaging the potential for a disease-modifying effect of celecoxib compared to a modelized historical control cohort in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
conducted a cross-sectional study of middle-aged and elderly women and showed that parity, but not use of hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives, was independently associated with lower cartilage volume primarily in the tibial compartment. Joint distraction was effective in regenerating cartilage by increasing its thickness and decreasing denuded areas of subchondral bone, and the effects lasted for months after the intervention.
Greater rates of cartilage loss in painful knees than in pain-free knees after adjustment for radiographic disease stage: data from the osteoarthritis initiative.
compared knees with frequent pain with knees without pain, and found higher rates of (medial femorotibial) cartilage loss over 1 year in the painful knees compared with the painless knees. Adjustment or stratification for radiographic disease stage did not affect this association. The investigators concluded that enrolling participants with frequent knee pain in clinical trials could increase the observed rate of structural progression. The same group also showed that radiographic and MR cartilage morphometry features suggesting advanced OA (high KL grade) seem to be associated with greater cartilage thickness loss.
Relationship of compartment-specific structural knee status at baseline with change in cartilage morphology: a prospective observational study using data from the osteoarthritis initiative.
Rates of change and sensitivity to change in cartilage morphology in healthy knees and in knees with mild, moderate, and end-stage radiographic osteoarthritis: results from 831 participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
Knees with early radiographic OA (KL grade 2) display thicker cartilage than healthy reference knees or the contralateral knees without radiographic findings of OA, specifically in the external femoral subregions.
Femorotibial subchondral bone area and regional cartilage thickness: a cross-sectional description in healthy reference cases and various radiographic stages of osteoarthritis in 1,003 knees from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
Quantitative measures of articular cartilage structure, such as cartilage thickness loss and denuded areas of subchondral bone, have been shown to predict an important clinical outcome: knee replacement.
However, long-term observations are needed to achieve robust results on tibiofemoral cartilage thickness loss in individual knees in observational OA studies, by comparing 1-year with 2-year and 4-year rates of change in OA knees.
Further, investigators intending to use the quantitative morphometry approach in a multicenter study should be aware of at least 1 pitfall: quantitative data collected from different segmentation teams cannot be pooled unless equivalence is shown for the cartilage metrics of interest. Schneider and colleagues
showed that segmentation team differences dominated measurement variability in most cartilage regions for all image series.
Functional studies in healthy subjects reported nocturnal changes of cartilage thickness, with more morning postexercise deformation than evening postexercise deformation.
Osteoarthritic cartilage tended to show more deformation on loading than healthy cartilage, suggesting that knee OA affects the mechanical properties of cartilage, and the pattern of in vivo deformation indicated that cartilage loss in OA progression is mechanically driven.
A correlation between changes in cartilage thickness and those in a molecular serum marker (ie, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein) after drop landing was also reported.
A three-dimensional quantitative method to measure meniscus shape, position, and signal intensity using MR images: a pilot study and preliminary results in knee osteoarthritis.
presented a technique for three-dimensional and quantitative analysis of meniscal shape, position, and signal intensity, which displayed adequate interobserver and intraobserver precision.
When examining healthy reference subjects using these techniques, the investigators reported that meniscus surface area strongly corresponds with (ipsilateral) tibial plateau area across both sexes, and that tibial coverage by the meniscus is similar between men and women.
developed an algorithm to semiautomatically segment the meniscus in a series of MR images. Their method produced accurate and consistent segmentations of the meniscus compared with the manual segmentations. Wenger and colleagues
described an association between knee pain and meniscal extrusion using a between-knee, intraperson comparison using three-dimensional measures of extrusion.
Other than menisci, investigators have used quantitative MR imaging to assess BMLs,
Volumetric and semiquantitative assessment of MRI-detected subchondral bone marrow lesions in knee osteoarthritis: a comparison of contrast-enhanced and non-enhanced imaging.
Assessment of synovitis in the osteoarthritic knee: Comparison between manual segmentation, semi-automated segmentation and semiquantitative assessment using contrast-enhanced fat-suppressed T1-weighted MRI.
MRI-based volumetric assessment of joint effusion in knee osteoarthritis using proton density-weighted fat-suppressed and T1-weighted contrast-enhanced fat-suppressed sequences.
However, using segmentation approaches for ill-defined lesions such as BMLs is more challenging than segmentation of clearly delineated structures such as cartilage, menisci, and effusion.
Compositional MR imaging can assess the biochemical properties of different joint tissues and thus is sensitive to early, premorphologic changes that cannot be seen on conventional MR imaging. Most studies applying compositional MR imaging have focused on cartilage, although the technique can also be used to assess other tissues such as the meniscus or ligaments. Compositional imaging of cartilage matrix changes can be performed using advanced MR imaging techniques such as delayed gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC; Fig. 10), T1 rho, and T2 mapping (Fig. 11). For detailed descriptions of these techniques, readers are referred to the published review articles.
Fig. 10Case study of dGEMRIC as a function of time before and after posterior cruciate ligament injury. A decline in the dGEMRIC index is apparent at 1 month, with a further decrease at 3 months and recovery at 6 months. These data show the potential for biochemical monitoring of cartilage to demonstrate degeneration and recovery of the tissue from a traumatic injury. Similar studies might be used to monitor cartilage status improvement with other mechanical, surgical, or pharmaceutical interventions.
(From Young AA, Stanwell P, Williams A, et al. Glycosaminoglycan content of knee cartilage following posterior cruciate ligament rupture demonstrated by delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC). A case report. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2005;87(12):2765; with permission.)
Fig. 11(A) T2 map of patellar cartilage shows variation with cartilage depth. (B) T1 rho map of patellar cartilage shows a lesion in cartilage that is morphologically thick and intact. The variation and lesions apparent in maps of these parameters across morphologically intact cartilage enable monitoring of biochemical changes in cartilage before morphologic changes become apparent.
(From [A] Maier CF, Tan SG, Hariharan H, et al. T2 quantitation of articular cartilage at 1.5 T. J Magn Reson Imaging 2003;17(3):363, with permission; and [B] Borthakur A, Mellon E, Niyogi S, et al. Sodium and T1 rho MRI for molecular and diagnostic imaging of articular cartilage. NMR Biomed 2006;19(7):799, with permission.)
Change in knee osteoarthritis cartilage detected by delayed gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging following treatment with collagen hydrolysate: a pilot randomized controlled trial.
showed that the dGEMRIC score increased in tibial cartilage regions of interest in subjects receiving collagen hydrolysate, and decreased in the placebo group. A significant difference was observed at 24 weeks. It will be of interest to see whether macroscopic cartilage changes are associated with those dGEMRIC findings in future studies. Another study
Functional adaptation of knee cartilage in asymptomatic female novice runners compared to sedentary controls. A longitudinal analysis using delayed gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC).
showed an increase in dGEMRIC indices of knee cartilage in asymptomatic untrained women who were enrolled in a 10-week running program, compared with sedentary controls. Souza and colleagues
showed that acute loading of the knee joint resulted in a significant decrease in T1 rho and T2 relaxation times of the medial tibiofemoral compartment, and especially in cartilage regions with small focal defects. These data suggest that changes of T1 rho values under mechanical loading may be related to the biomechanical and structural properties of cartilage.
Physical activity is associated with magnetic resonance imaging-based knee cartilage T2 measurements in asymptomatic subjects with and those without osteoarthritis risk factors.
reported that light exercise was associated with low cartilage T2 values but moderate and strenuous exercise were associated with high T2 values in women, suggesting that activity levels can affect cartilage composition. Another study of the normal control group at baseline and 2 years later found a high prevalence of structural abnormalities and a significant increase in cartilage T2 values in the tibiofemoral, but not the patellofemoral, joint.
Knee cartilage T2 characteristics and evolution in relation to morphologic abnormalities detected at 3-T MR imaging: a longitudinal study of the normal control cohort from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
reported that improved articular cartilage quality was reflected as an increase in the dGEMRIC index over 1 year for the medial, but not the lateral, compartment. This finding highlights the role of weight loss in possible clinical and structural improvement.
described intrameniscal biochemical alterations using ultrashort echo time–enhanced T2* mapping. The investigators found significant increases of ultrashort echo time–enhanced T2* values in the menisci of subjects with anterior cruciate ligament injuries but who showed no clinical evidence of subsurface meniscal abnormality.
Novel compositional techniques have been explored further. Raya and colleagues
found that in vivo diffusion tensor imaging with a 7-T MR system could distinguish OA knees from non-OA knees better than T2 mapping. Other work on 7-T systems reported on the reproducibility of the method in vivo.
These techniques show promise, but they need to be practical and deployable using standard MR imaging systems before they can be widely used as research or a clinical diagnostic tools.
Ultrasonography
Ultrasound imaging allows multiplanar and real-time imaging without radiation exposure at low cost. It can offer reliable assessment of OA-associated features, including inflammatory and structural abnormalities, without contrast administration.
Limitations of ultrasonography include that it is an operator-dependent technique and that the physical properties of sound limit its ability to assess deeper articular structures and the subchondral bone (Fig. 12).
Fig. 12OA of the knee. Coronal ultrasound scans through the distal femur of a normal knee (A) and an osteoarthritic knee (B) show the intracondylar notch. The red arrows indicate the cortical surface of the femur, and the yellow arrows indicate the superficial surface of the cartilage. Note that, compared with the normal knee, the cartilage in the osteoarthritic knee is more echoic, there is loss of definition of the margins, and it seems thinner laterally.
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
In OA, the ability to detect synovial disorders is the major advantage ultrasonography has compared with conventional radiography. Current ultrasound technology can detect synovial disorders including hypertrophy, increased vascularity, and the presence of synovial fluid in joints affected by arthritis (Fig. 13).
The Outcome Measures in Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials (OMERACT) Ultrasonography Taskforce reported an ultrasonography definition of synovial hypertrophy as, “abnormal hypoechoic (relative to subdermal fat, but sometimes may be isoechoic or hyperechoic) intra-articular tissue that is non-displaceable and poorly compressible and which may exhibit Doppler.”
Although this definition was developed for use in rheumatoid arthritis, it may also be applied to OA because the difference in synovial inflammation between OA and rheumatoid arthritis is quantitative rather than qualitative.
Fig. 13OA of the PIP joint. (A) Dorsal longitudinal ultrasound image of a normal PIP joint, with smooth cortical outlines. (B) Dorsal longitudinal ultrasound scan of osteoarthritic PIP joint shows proximal and distal dorsal osteophytes (yellow arrows) and synovial hypertrophy (dark area indicated by an S). Dorsal longitudinal (C) and transverse (D) ultrasound scans of the PIP joint shown in B, with power Doppler function added, show Doppler signal within the hypoechoic synovial hypertrophy. PP, proximal phalanx; MP, middle phalanx.
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
This scoring system included evaluation of gray-scale synovitis and power Doppler signal in 15 joints of the hand. These features were assessed for their presence/absence and, if present, were scored semiquantitatively using a scale from 1 to 3. Overall, the reliability exercise showed moderately good intrareader and inter-reader reliability. This study showed that an ultrasonography outcome measure suitable for multicenter trials assessing hand OA is feasible and likely to be reliable, and has provided a foundation for further development.
Ultrasonography has been increasingly used for assessment of OA of the hand (see Fig. 13). Kortekaas and colleagues
showed that ultrasonography-detected osteophytes and JSN are associated with hand pain. In a more recent study, the same group of investigators showed that signs of inflammation appear more frequently on ultrasonography in hands with erosive OA than in hands without erosive OA, not only in erosive joints but also in nonerosive joints.
evaluated the efficacy of weekly ultrasonography-guided intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid. A decrease in pain correlated with a decrease in synovial thickening and power Doppler ultrasonography score between baseline and the end of therapy. To take advantage of ultrasound and MR imaging, Iagnocco and colleagues
performed integrated MR imaging and ultrasound real-time fusion imaging in hand and wrist OA, and found a high concordance of the bony profile visualization at the level of osteophytes.
Evaluation of synovitis in OA of the knee has also been documented (Fig. 14).
Femorotibial subchondral bone area and regional cartilage thickness: a cross-sectional description in healthy reference cases and various radiographic stages of osteoarthritis in 1,003 knees from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
A cross-sectional, multicenter European study supported by The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) analyzed 600 patients with painful knee OA, and found that ultrasonography-detected synovitis correlated with advanced radiographic OA and clinical signs and symptoms suggesting an inflammatory flare.
However, ultrasonography-detected synovitis was not a predictor of subsequent joint replacement. In addition, ultrasonography signs of synovitis were found to be reflected metabolically by markers of joint tissue metabolism.
evaluated the diagnostic performance of knee ultrasonography for the detection of degenerative changes of articular cartilage, using arthroscopic findings as the reference. They found that positive ultrasonography findings were strong indicators of cartilage degeneration, but negative findings did not exclude cartilage degeneration. Kawaguchi and colleagues
used ultrasonography to study medial radial displacement of the meniscus in the supine weight-bearing positions. They showed the medial meniscus was significantly displaced radially by weight bearing in control knees and in those with KL grades 1 to 3. Significant differences were noted between knees of KL grade greater than or equal to 2 and controls in the supine and the standing positions, and displacement increased in all weight-bearing knees at 1-year follow-up, except for KL grade 4 knees.
Fig. 14OA in the knee. A longitudinal ultrasound image through the suprapatellar pouch shows synovial hypertrophy with villi formation (yellow arrows) and an effusion (E). The cortical surface of the femur (F) and patella (P) are indicated by the red arrows, and the quadriceps tendon (QT) is also shown.
(From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
assessed whether inflammation on ultrasonography can predict clinical response to intra-articular corticosteroid injections in patients with knee OA. There was a significantly greater improvement in pain among noninflammatory patients than among inflammatory patients 12 weeks after injection. A small sample size, a lack of power Doppler imaging, and imaging only of the suprapatellar pouch could have led to these unexpected results. Wu and colleagues
investigated the association of ultrasonography features with pain and the functional scores in patients with equal radiographic grades of OA in both knees. Ultrasonography-detected inflammatory features, including suprapatellar effusion and medial compartment synovitis, were positively and linearly associated with knee pain in motion. Medial compartment synovitis was also degree-dependently associated with pain at rest and with the presence of medial knee pain. These findings confirmed the association between synovitis and knee pain, which has also been reported in MR imaging–based studies.
Assessment of synovitis with contrast-enhanced MRI using a whole-joint semiquantitative scoring system in people with, or at high risk of, knee osteoarthritis: the MOST study.
Use of technetium 99m (99mTc) hydroxymethane diphosphonate (HDP) scintigraphy and 2-18F-fluoro-2-deoxy–d-glucose (18-FDG) or 18F-fluoride (18-F−) positron emission tomography (PET) for assessing OA have been described in the literature (Figs. 15 and 16).
Bone scintigraphy is a simple examination that can provide a full-body survey that helps to discriminate between soft tissues and bone origins of pain, and to locate the site of pain in patients with complex symptoms.
18-F− PET can be used for bone imaging; the amount of tracer uptake depends on the regional blood flow and bone remodeling conditions. An animal study by Umemoto and colleagues
using a rat OA model showed that uptake of 18-F− was significantly higher in knees that had undergone anterior cruciate ligament transection than in sham-operated knees, and was higher in all the compartments of the tibiofemoral joint 8 weeks after surgery. An in vivo study by Temmerman and colleagues
showed a significant increase in bone metabolism in the proximal femur of patients with symptomatic hip OA. These studies showed that 18-F− PET is a potentially useful technique for early detection of OA changes.
Fig. 15Scintigraphy. (A) Radionuclide accumulation is observed in the medial compartment of the left knee (black arrows) in a patient who has prostate cancer and a high risk for bone metastases. This appearance is nonspecific and more likely secondary to degenerative disease. (B) Coronal T2-weighted fat-suppressed MR image of the same knee shows meniscal degeneration (white arrows) and cartilage damage (arrowhead). The image confirms normal bone marrow without metastatic deposits.
(Courtesy of G. Mercier, MD, PhD, Boston, MA; and From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Fig. 16FDG-PET of the cervical spine in a patient who has breast cancer. (A) Axial FDG-PET shows inflammatory facet joint of the cervical spine OA with strong glucose accumulation around the left facet joint. Note the low spatial resolution of PET. (B) Axial CT shows hypertrophic left-sided facet joint and confirms the osteoarthritic nature of the lesion. (C) Fused PET-CT image superiorly shows the correlation between metabolic changes depicted by PET and spatial localization by CT. (D) Coronal FDG-PET in the same patients shows bilateral facet joint OA at L4 to L5 and L5 to S1 (arrows).
(Courtesy of G. Mercier, MD, PhD, Boston, MA; and From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Another imaging technique in the nuclear medicine category is single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Researchers are searching for a cartilage-specific radiopharmaceutical agent that can be applied to OA imaging. A recent ex vivo study by Cachin and colleagues
using 99mTc-N-triethylammonium-3-proyl-15ane-N5 (NTP 15-5), which binds to cartilage, quantified the uptake by human articular cartilage relative to bone 99mTc-HDP radiotracer. Visual analysis of fused SPECT-computed tomography (CT) slices showed selective, intense 99mTc-NTP 15-5 accumulation in articular cartilage, whereas 99mTc-HDP binding was low. A cartilage defect visualized on CT was associated with focal decreased uptake of 99mTc-NTP 15-5. Thus, it is hoped this agent may be applied to human cartilage molecular imaging and clinical applications in OA staging and monitoring.
Limitations of radioisotope methods include poor anatomic resolution and the use of ionizing radiation. However, there are ways to overcome these issues. Hybrid technologies such as PET-CT and PET-MR imaging combine functional imaging with high-resolution anatomic imaging. A study by Moon and colleagues
showed that PET-CT could detect active inflammation in patients with OA of the shoulder. Techniques to achieve the optimum registration of PET and MR images are being developed.
The small-part PET scanners have the advantages of lower operating costs and lower radiation exposure while retaining high spatial resolution and sensitivity for detection of lesions.
CT
CT is more useful than MR imaging for depicting cortical bone and soft tissue calcifications. It has an established role in assessing facet joint OA of the spine in both clinical and research settings.
showed a high prevalence of facet joint OA and that the prevalence of facet joint OA increases with age, with the highest prevalence at the L4 to L5 spinal level. Also, in the same cohort of subjects, several associations were observed: self-reported back pain with spinal stenosis
used micro-CT to assess the cartilage alterations in the facet joint of rats, and showed that monosodium iodoacetate injection into facet joints provided a useful model for the study of OA changes in the facet joint and indicated that facet joint degeneration is a major cause of low back pain.
CT and MR arthrography
Arthrography using CT or MR imaging enables evaluation of damage to articular cartilage with a high anatomic resolution in multiple planes. CT arthrography can be performed using a single (iodine alone) or double-contrast (iodine and air) technique.
For MR arthrography, gadolinium–diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) is injected intra-articularly to delineate superficial cartilage defects. The optimum concentration of gadolinium-DTPA varies depending on the magnetic field strength of the MR system.
It has been shown that iodine-based and gadolinium-based contrast agents can be mixed, enabling combined MR arthrography and CT arthrography examinations.
Other risks include pain and vasovagal reactions, and systemic allergic reactions. CT arthrography exposes patients to radiation but MR arthrography does not.
At present, CT arthrography is the most accurate method for evaluating cartilage thickness. It offers high spatial resolution and high contrast between the low-attenuating cartilage and high-attenuating superficial (contrast material filling the joint space) and deep (subchondral bone) boundaries.
However, a more recent study showed that evaluation of hip cartilage thickness in the coronal plane by MR arthrography has similar accuracy to CT arthrography (Fig. 17).
Comparison of MR-arthrography and CT arthrography in hyaline cartilage-thickness measurement in radiographically normal cadaver hips with anatomy as gold standard.
For other planes, CT arthrography showed better diagnostic performance than MR arthrography.
Fig. 17Correlation of CT arthrography and MR imaging. (A) Sagittal reformatted CT arthrography of the medial knee compartment shows posterior horn meniscal tear (arrow). Note superficial cartilage thinning at the femoral condyle adjacent to the meniscus. (B) Sagittal proton density–weighted MR image of the same knee shows the posterior horn meniscal tear (arrow). (C) Coronal reformatted CT arthrography of the medial compartment shows focal cartilage defect in the central femoral condyle (arrow). (D) Coronal fat-suppressed T2-weighted MR image shows the same defect (arrow).
(Courtesy of B. Van de Berg, MD, PhD, Brussels, Belgium; and From Guermazi A, Burstein D, Conaghan P, et al. Imaging in osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2008;34:645–87.)
Superficial focal cartilage lesions are well delineated by both arthrographic techniques and appear as areas filled with the intra-articular contrast agent. Again, CT arthrography offers higher spatial resolution as well as higher contrast between the cartilage and the intra-articular contrast agent filling the joint space, leading to a high degree of confidence in depicting these lesions with a higher inter-reader reproducibility.
Regarding subchondral changes, MR arthrography is the only technique that allows delineation of subchondral BMLs on the fluid-sensitive sequences with fat suppression.
CT arthrography is better than MR arthrography at depicting subchondral bone sclerosis and osteophytes. Both techniques enable visualization of central osteophytes, which are associated with more severe changes of OA than marginal osteophytes.
Because of the high cost (caused by the use of contrast agents), invasive nature, and potential, albeit low, risk associated with intra-articular injection, arthrographic examinations are rarely used in large-scale clinical or epidemiologic OA studies. However, arthrography has been used in a small-scale clinical study of posttraumatic OA.
used high-resolution CT arthrography to examine the three-dimensional progression pattern of early acetabular cartilage damage in 32 patients with hip dysplasia. They found that the lateral/medial ratio, which was defined as cartilage thickness in the lateral zone divided by that in the medial zone, may be a sensitive index for quantifying early cartilage damage associated with extent of labral disorders.
Summary
Since publication of the previous edition of this review article in 2008, OA imaging has been driven by publically available images and analyses from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI). OAI study design, image archive, and available image analyses and science have been recently summarized.
In a research setting, conventional radiography is still commonly used to semiquantitatively and quantitatively evaluate structural OA features such as osteophytes and JSN. Radiographic JSW measurement is still a recommended option for trials of structural modification, with the understanding that the concept of JSW represents several disorders, including cartilage and meniscal damage, and trial duration may be long. MR imaging is currently the most important imaging modality for research into OA, and investigators may select from semiquantitative, quantitative, and compositional techniques, depending on the aims of the study. Ultrasonography is commonly used in hand OA studies and is particularly useful for evaluation of synovitis. Nuclear medicine, CT, and CT-MR arthrography can also be used for evaluation of OA features, but they are rarely used in large-scale clinical or epidemiologic studies.
Acknowledgments
We thank those who are not listed as authors in this article, but who were coauthors of the previous edition (Deborah Burstein, Philip Conaghan, Marie-Pierre Hellio Le Graverand-Gastineau, and Helen Keen).
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Comparison of BLOKS and WORMS scoring systems part I. Cross sectional comparison of methods to assess cartilage morphology, meniscal damage and bone marrow lesions on knee MRI: data from the osteoarthritis initiative.
Comparison of BLOKS and WORMS scoring systems part II. Longitudinal assessment of knee MRIs for osteoarthritis and suggested approach based on their performance: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
Predictive validity of within-grade scoring of longitudinal changes of MRI-based cartilage morphology and bone marrow lesion assessment in the tibio-femoral joint - the MOST Study.
Comparing non-enhanced and enhanced sequences in the assessment of effusion and synovitis in knee OA: associations with clinical, macroscopic and microscopic features.
A high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging study of distal interphalangeal joint arthropathy in psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis: are they the same?.
Combined high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and histological examination to explore the role of ligaments and tendons in the phenotypic expression of early hand osteoarthritis.
Reliability and construct validity of ultrasonography of soft tissue and destructive changes in erosive osteoarthritis of the interphalangeal finger joints: a comparison with MRI.
Health-related quality of life in women with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis: a comparison with rheumatoid arthritis patients, healthy controls, and normative data.
Associations between MRI-defined synovitis, bone marrow lesions and structural features and measures of pain and physical function in hand osteoarthritis.
Does the use of ordered values of subregional change in cartilage thickness improve the detection of disease progression in longitudinal studies of osteoarthritis?.
MRI-based extended ordered values more efficiently differentiate cartilage loss in knees with and without joint space narrowing than region-specific approaches using MRI or radiography–data from the OA initiative.
An open-label pilot study evaluating by magnetic resonance imaging the potential for a disease-modifying effect of celecoxib compared to a modelized historical control cohort in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
Greater rates of cartilage loss in painful knees than in pain-free knees after adjustment for radiographic disease stage: data from the osteoarthritis initiative.
Relationship of compartment-specific structural knee status at baseline with change in cartilage morphology: a prospective observational study using data from the osteoarthritis initiative.
Rates of change and sensitivity to change in cartilage morphology in healthy knees and in knees with mild, moderate, and end-stage radiographic osteoarthritis: results from 831 participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
Femorotibial subchondral bone area and regional cartilage thickness: a cross-sectional description in healthy reference cases and various radiographic stages of osteoarthritis in 1,003 knees from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
A three-dimensional quantitative method to measure meniscus shape, position, and signal intensity using MR images: a pilot study and preliminary results in knee osteoarthritis.
Volumetric and semiquantitative assessment of MRI-detected subchondral bone marrow lesions in knee osteoarthritis: a comparison of contrast-enhanced and non-enhanced imaging.
Assessment of synovitis in the osteoarthritic knee: Comparison between manual segmentation, semi-automated segmentation and semiquantitative assessment using contrast-enhanced fat-suppressed T1-weighted MRI.
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