title: Diagnosis of Knee Osteochondral Lesions With Ultrasound Imaging.
abstract: Evaluation of articular cartilage and subchondral bone is essential in the diagnosis of joint diseases and injuries. Interobserver and intraobserver reproducibilities of arthroscopic grading are only poor to moderate. Thus, for quantitative and objective evaluation of cartilage and subchondral bone, ultrasound arthroscopy (UA) has been introduced to clarify this dilemma. Assessment of the clinical feasibility of high-frequency ultrasonography (US) during 6 knee arthroscopies was conducted, and the surgical technique is presented. US imaging was conducted with a flexible 9-MHz US catheter inserted into the joint through conventional portals. US and arthroscopy videos were synchronously recorded, and US parameters for cartilage and subchondral bone characteristics were measured. Arthroscopy and US imaging were combined to perform cartilage grading. UA produced quantitative data on lesion size, as well as cartilage quality, and showed subchondral bone changes. Visualization of an osteochondritis dissecans lesion not detected by conventional arthroscopy and US-guided retrograde drilling were possible with UA. To conclude, UA proved to be clinically feasible and aided in the diagnosis when assessing knee osteochondral lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Pekko
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Penttilä
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liukkonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Traumatology and Hand Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Joukainen
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Tuomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Virén
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Jukka S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Jurvelin
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland ; Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Töyräs
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Traumatology and Hand Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland ; Bone and Cartilage Research Unit, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kröger