Development of a rapid knee cartilage damage quantification method using magnetic resonance images (original) (raw)

Background: Cartilage morphometry based on magnetic resonance images (MRIs) is an emerging outcome measure for clinical trials among patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). However, current methods for cartilage morphometry take many hours per knee and require extensive training on the use of the associated software. In this study we tested the feasibility, reliability, and construct validity of a novel osteoarthritis cartilage damage quantification method (Cartilage Damage Index [CDI]) that utilizes informative locations on knee MRIs. Methods: We selected 102 knee MRIs from the Osteoarthritis Initiative that represented a range of KOA structural severity (Kellgren Lawrence [KL] Grade 0 -4). We tested the intra-and inter-tester reliability of the CDI and compared the CDI scores against different measures of severity (radiographic joint space narrowing [JSN] grade, KL score, joint space width [JSW]) and static knee alignment, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.