Measuring finger joint cartilage by ultrasound as a promising alternative to conventional radiograph imaging

The Application of Imaging in Osteoarthritis

“…Gentle flexion of the joints allows detection of intra-articular changes such as osteophytes and synovial thickening (Koski, Saarakkala et al 2006) (Figure 5). Ultrasound shows good agreement with MRI for the assessment of cartilage erosion and grey-scale synovial thickening (Moller, Bonel et al 2009). Osteophytes can produce a signal void on MRI due to the presence of densely packed calcium, making US more sensitive than CR and MRI (Moller, Bonel et al 2009).…”

“…Ultrasound shows good agreement with MRI for the assessment of cartilage erosion and grey-scale synovial thickening (Moller, Bonel et al 2009). Osteophytes can produce a signal void on MRI due to the presence of densely packed calcium, making US more sensitive than CR and MRI (Moller, Bonel et al 2009). Similar techniques can be employed to image the small joints of the forefoot (Koski, Saarakkala et al 2006).…”

“…Several studies have also investigated the diagnostic accuracy of US compared to CR, CT and MRI in the hand (Keen, Wakefield et al 2008;Moller, Bonel et al 2009;Mancarella, Magnani et al 2010). Ultrasound is more sensitive than CR in detecting cartilage erosions in the hand which may provide a tool for allowing earlier identification of cartilage loss in joints (Wittoek, Carron et al 2010).…”

Toward Standardized Ultrasound Measurements of Cartilage Thickness in Children: Figure 1.

“…Power Doppler US detects slow flow in small vessels, which is part of the pathological process in synovitis 2 . In addition, cartilage thickness can be assessed with US 3 . As one of the cardinal features of inflammatory arthritis is cartilage loss, and joint space narrowing is increasingly recognized as a factor in work disability and poor quality of life 4 , US might play an important role in the monitoring of patients with chronic arthritis.…”

“…High frequency transducers with a resolution of around 0.1 mm now permit accurate measurements. Indeed, quantitation of cartilage thickness has been described in a few studies 3 , and linear measurements can be made from standard scans. US has been shown to be superior to plain radiographs in the detection of erosions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but overall there have been only a few studies on the use of US for evaluating cartilage damage in RA.…”