Quantitative MRI analysis method for longitudinal assessment of knee OA

描述(申请人提供)：核磁共振成像(MRI)提供膝关节关节软骨的直接三维(3D)可视化。新的高场三特斯拉(3T)核磁共振扫描仪和专门的脉冲序列可以提供出色的空间分辨率和高对比度的图像，详细显示膝关节的软骨和其他结构。这些新技术是应用图像处理软件分割(识别和勾勒)MRI切片上的软骨板以定量评估骨关节炎(OA)进展的理想选择。几个学术和行业附属的研究小组已经开发了软件工具来分割膝盖MRI扫描中的软骨板。然而，从完整的软骨板或甚至特定的亚区得出的测量结果可能对变化相对不敏感。我们建议检验这一假设，即基于比较膝关节软骨局部区域的分析将比软骨形态计量学的整体测量更灵敏地检测膝关节骨关节炎的变化。我们将使用我们实验室开发的软件工具来分割膝关节MRI图像集上的关节软骨。3D配准软件将用于对齐基线和后续分段扫描。一旦基线和后续分割图像配准(对齐)，该技术将测量距离已知软骨变薄区域很近的区域的体积变化。我们还将基于骨髓水肿(BME)、骨囊肿和骨赘体积的测量来开发和验证新的定量指标。我们的项目将使用骨关节炎倡议(OAI)的数据和图像，这是美国国立卫生研究院(NIH)的一项大型研究，约有4800名登记受试者被细分为三组：发病率队列、进展队列和控制队列。来自进步队列的400名受试者的子集将被用来检验我们的假设。我们将进一步开发我们现有的分析软件，以促进研究的目标。 公共卫生相关性：该项目将通过验证一种评估膝骨性关节炎的改进技术来解决公共卫生问题。这项工作将通过帮助其他人开发和评估OA疗法，间接为公众健康做出贡献。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers direct three dimensional (3D) visualization of the articular cartilage in the knee joint. New high-field three-Tesla (3T) MRI scanners and specialized pulse sequences can provide images with excellent spatial resolution and high contrast, which show the cartilage and other structures of the knee in great detail. These new techniques are ideal for the application of image processing software to segment (identify and outline) cartilage plates on MRI slices for the quantitative assessment of osteoarthritis (OA) progression. Several academic and industry affiliated research groups have developed software tools to segment the cartilage plates on knee MRI scans. However measures derived from the full cartilage plate or even specified subregions can be relatively insensitive to change. We propose to test the hypothesis that an analysis based on comparing local regions of the knee cartilage will be more responsive than global measures of cartilage morphometry for detecting knee OA changes. We will use a software tool developed in our laboratory to segment the articular cartilage on knee MRI image sets. 3D registration software will be used to align baseline and follow-up segmented scans. Once the baseline and follow-up segmented images are registered (aligned) the technique will measure volume change in a region in close proximity to a known cartilage area of thinning. We will also develop and validate new quantitative metrics based on measurements of bone marrow edema (BME), bone cysts, and osteophyte volume. Our project will use data and images from the osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), a large National Institutes of Health (NIH) study with approximately 4,800 enrolled subjects subdivided into three groups: the Incidence Cohort, the Progression Cohort, and the Control Cohort. A subset of 400 subjects from the Progression Cohort will be used to test our hypotheses. Our existing analysis software will be further developed to facilitate the aims of the study. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project will address public health concerns by validating an improved technique for evaluating osteoarthritis of the knee. The work will contribute to the public health indirectly by assisting others in developing and evaluating OA therapies.