title: Surface size, curvature analysis, and assessment of knee joint incongruity with MRI in vivo.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop an MR-based technique for quantitative analysis of joint surface size, surface curvature, and joint incongruity and to assess its reproducibility under in vivo imaging conditions. The surface areas were determined after 3D reconstruction of the joint by triangulation and the incongruity by Gaussian curvature analysis. The precision was tested by analyzing four replicated MRI datasets of human knees in 14 individuals. The algorithms were shown to produce accurate data in geometric test objects. The interscan precision was <4% (CV%) for surface area, 2.9-5.7 m(-1) (SD) for the mean principal curvature, and 4.1-7.4 m(-1) for congruence indices. Incongruity was highest in the femoropatellar joint (79.7 m(-1)) and lowest in the medial femorotibial joint (28.6 m(-1)). This technique will permit identification of the specific role of surface size, curvature, and incongruity as potential risk factors for osteoarthritis.
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal Research Group, Institute of Anatomy, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hohe
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ateshian
authors.forename: Maximilian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reiser
authors.forename: Karl-Hans
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Englmeier
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eckstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results