Quantitative Assessment of Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis by Multimodal Optical Coherence Tomography
Abstract
Evidence from osteoarthritis (OA) studies suggests that there is a narrow time window in the early stages of the disease when cartilage can be functionally restored to reduce further degeneration. These studies collectively demonstrate the importance of early detection of OA to enhance the effectiveness of subsequent therapies. However, current technologies, including arthroscopy, X-ray radiography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can detect OA only after significant and irreversible damages to articular cartilage have already occurred. In particular, small internal cartilage damages due to traumatic joint injuries are hard to detect with the traditional imaging technologies, but pose a significant risk of inducing OA later. This leads to two interrelated problems: therapies that prevent damage are far more effective and identifying where such therapies are most effective can minimize systemic side effects from treatment. Therefore, it is essential to develop tomographic imaging tools with high resolution that can provide direct assessment of intra-cartilaginous damages in individual patients at the earliest stages of post-traumatic OA (PTOA). We believe that high-resolution assessment of not only the surface, but also the interior portions of cartilage will allow for detection of OA at a much earlier time point, thus providing an opportunity to prevent the progression of or even to allow for repair of cartilage damage and to guide therapies to where they are most effective for existing damage. The overall objective of the proposed research is to develop a novel optical imaging technology and to validate its performance on detecting internal cartilage damages by imaging-based mechanical characterization. Cartilage damage at the early stages of PTOA is known to affect local density/structure of extracellular matrix (ECM). The technology to be developed in this project will enable the detection of these minute structural/compositional changes of the tissue in a non-destructive manner. Our proposed method is computationally efficient to allow for real-time processing and visualization of data for rapid scanning and feedback over a large area in full 3D. Therefore, this work will provide a unique opportunity to develop an innovative multimodal imaging technique with a significant translational potential to quantitatively assess local cartilage damage with a very high resolution in real time, unmatched by any current imaging technologies. Once validated in this project, this technology can be implemented with optical fiber and into an arthroscope to provide high-resolution characterization of the interior portions of cartilage in human patients with minimal disruption to current diagnostic standards. Overall, with this technology, we expect to advance diagnosis of OA at its early stages and as a method for image-guided application of therapies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 19, 2019
- Source ID
- W81XWH1910168
Entities
People
- Boris Hyle Park
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of California, Riverside