3T MRI enhances knee osteoarthritis management

An exam that combines 3T MR imaging with clinical assessment could speed up the management of patients with suspected degenerative arthritis of the knee. Disease biomarkers could be identified in half the time-or less-than is currently possible, according to University of California, San Francisco researchers.

Dr. Sapna Jain and colleagues prospectively assessed 20 patients with knee osteoarthritis and 20 age-matched controls who underwent 3T MRI at baseline and at three, six, and 12 months. The study correlated eight imaging abnormalities of the tibiofemoral compartment with three clinical parameters for the assessment of pain and mobility. The investigators found statistical-ly significant changes in the knees of osteoarthritis patients associated with clinical findings throughout the follow-up period. These changes, however, were mostly absent in normal controls. Jain presented these findings at the 2007 RSNA meeting.