Diffraction enhanced x-ray imaging of articular cartilage

Abstract

The detection of articular cartilage and its abnormalities through non-invasive means is of importance for the early diagnosis of the degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA). The development of treatment strategies depends largely on the ability to identify early pathological changes in the articular cartilage and monitor the progression of its degeneration. Because this tissue has little or no x-ray absorptive contrast, it cannot be visualized with conventional radiography, thus joint abnormalities can be assessed only through bony changes and the joint space narrowing that occurs at late stage disease. However, because of the short wavelength nature of x-rays they should be capable of detecting a higher level of tissue information than other modes of imaging. Here, we describe a novel x-ray technology in its early stages of development, Diffraction Enhanced Imaging (DEI), for the high contrast imaging of articular cartilage of synovial joints [1].