title: The role of imaging in osteoarthritis.
abstract: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint disorder with no approved disease-modifying treatment available. The importance of imaging in assessing all joint structures involved in the disease process, including articular cartilage, meniscus, subarticular bone marrow, and synovium for diagnosis, prognostication, and follow-up, has been well recognized. In daily clinical practice, conventional radiography is still the most commonly used imaging technique for the evaluation of a patient with known or suspected OA and radiographic outcome measures are still the only approved end point by regulatory authorities in clinical trials. The ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to visualize all joint structures in three-dimensional fashion including tissue ultrastructure has markedly deepened our understanding of the natural history of the disease. This article describes the roles and limitations of different imaging modalities for clinical practice and research in OA, with a focus on radiography and MRI and an emphasis on the knee joint.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Quantitative Imaging Center (QIC), Boston University School of Medicine, 820 Harrison Avenue, FGH Building, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, USA; Department of Radiology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Maximiliansplatz 1, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; Department of Radiology, Klinikum Augsburg, Augsburg, Stenglinstr 2, 86156 Augsburg, Germany. Electronic address: froemer@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Frank W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Roemer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, Paracelsus Medical University, Strubergasse 21, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: felix.eckstein@pmu.ac.at.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eckstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Quantitative Imaging Center (QIC), Boston University School of Medicine, 820 Harrison Avenue, FGH Building, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, USA; Department of Radiology, Bridgeport Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine, 267 Grant Street, Bridgeport, CT 06610, USA. Electronic address: dhayashi@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Daichi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Quantitative Imaging Center (QIC), Boston University School of Medicine, 820 Harrison Avenue, FGH Building, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, USA. Electronic address: guermazi@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guermazi
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011859:Radiography / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods
keywords: CT; Imaging; MR imaging; Osteoarthritis; PET; Radiography; Ultrasound