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M. Acke, T. Scheerlinck, Benyameen Keelson, N. Van Vlasselaer, S. Héréus, G. Van Gompel, E. Cattrysse, N. Buls
 

Contribution to journal

Abstract 

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of cartilage damage on knee joint functionality through dynamic CT imaging. Methods or Backround: In an ex-vivo thiel embalmed leg, cartilage was removed progressively from the patellofemoral joint in three stages: Lateral facet, crista and medial facet. After each stage, dynamic CT scans were acquired while inducing a cyclic flexion-extension motion of the leg. Dynamic CT scans were acquired in cine mode with 16 cm z-coverage, 50 cm FOV, 80 kVp, 452 mA, 280 ms rotation time and 6 s total scan duration. Bones were segmented and registered through a multi-atlas approach using SimpleITKElastix. Surface proximity maps of the joint were created to visualise the intraarticular joint space. The intra-articular contact area was computed as the area with a distance to the adjacent bone smaller than the cartilage thickness (5,7 mm). Differences in contact areas between normal and damaged stages were evaluated using a Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. Results or Findings: The contact area after maximum intervention increased from 241 mm2 to 613 mm2 for extension, and from 67 mm2 to 480 mm2 for maximum flexion (p=0.014). Apart from the first stage, each intervention resulted in an increased intra-articular contact area (p=0.02 - 0.014). Conclusion: Dynamic CT scans can indicate an increasing trend of intraarticular contact area with escalating cartilage degeneration.

Reference