Assessment of knee cartilage in cadavers with dual-detector spiral CT arthrography and MR imaging.
OBJECTIVE
To assess dual-detector spiral CT arthrography in the evaluation of the entire knee cartilage obtained from cadavers.


METHODS
Two independent observers characterized articular cartilage in 12 cadaver knees in which MR imaging and dual-detector spiral CT arthrography were performed and compared their findings to those found during macroscopic assessment. The sensitivity and specificity of MR imaging and spiral CT arthrography for detecting grade 2A or higher and grade 2B or higher cartilage lesions, the Spearman correlation coefficient between arthrographic and macroscopic grading, and kappa statistics for assessing interobserver reproducibility were determined.


RESULTS
At spiral CT arthrography, sensitivities and specificities ranged between 80% and 88% for the detection of grade 2A or higher cartilage lesions and ranged between 85% and 94% for the detection of grade 2B or higher cartilage lesions. At MR imaging, sensitivities and specificities ranged between 78% and 86% and between 76% and 91% for the detection of grade 2A or higher and grade 2B or higher cartilage lesions, respectively. Spearman correlation coefficients between spiral CT arthrography or MR imaging and macroscopic grading of articular surfaces were 0.797 and 0.702, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Dual-detector spiral CT arthrography of the knee is a valuable method for the assessment of open cartilage lesions of the entire knee.
Vande Berg
Bruno C
BC
Department of Radiology, Cliniques Universitaires St Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, 10 av Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium. vandeberg@rdgn.ucl.ac.be
Lecouvet
Frédéric E
FE
Poilvache
Pascal
P
Jamart
Jacques
J
Materne
Roland
R
Lengele
Benoit
B
Maldague
Baudouin
B
Malghem
Jacques
J
D000368:Aged; D001175:Arthrography / Q000379:methods*; D002102:Cadaver; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed