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High-Resolution Imaging of Osteoarthritis Using Microcomputed Tomography

  • Protocol
Book cover Cartilage and Osteoarthritis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Medicine ((MIMM,volume 101))

Abstract

Three-dimensional imaging of osteoarthritis is so far limited to late stages of the disease. In this chapter we introduce microcomputed tomography (µCT) as a new imaging tool that offers exciting features for diagnosis of earlier disease stages and for disease monitoring. µCT provides spatial resolution better than 100 µm, but the size of the objects that can be scanned is restricted to several centimeters. The strength of X-ray-based techniques like µCT is the excellent visualization of bone. Therefore, the main application of µCT in osteoarthritis (OA) will be the analysis of bone in small-animal models or of human bone biopsies.

As an example, we will exemplarily describe the application of µCT for the examination of knee joints of male STR1N mice. This inbred strain spontaneously develops OA that carries many characteristics of the human disease. With µCT it is possible to monitor the prominent bony alterations such as osteophyte formation, trabecular remodeling, subchondral bone plate thickening, and subchondral sclerosis. We discuss sample preparation, scanning procedures, data processing, and analysis as well as implications and restrictions for in vivo and in vitro applications.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medical Physics, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany

    Lydia Wachsmuth & Klaus Engelke

Authors
  1. Lydia Wachsmuth
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  2. Klaus Engelke
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division de Rhumatologie, Institut de Recherches Servier, Suresnes, France

    Frédéric De Ceuninck , Massimo Sabatini  & Philippe Pastoureau ,  & 

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© 2004 Humana Press Inc.

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Wachsmuth, L., Engelke, K. (2004). High-Resolution Imaging of Osteoarthritis Using Microcomputed Tomography. In: De Ceuninck, F., Sabatini, M., Pastoureau, P. (eds) Cartilage and Osteoarthritis. Methods in Molecular Medicine, vol 101. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-821-8:231

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-821-8:231

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-505-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-821-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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