Osteoarthritis Arthritis
Osteoarthritis is a progressive form of arthritis which is characterized by breakdown of the cartilage in joints [1]. Osteoarthritis is abbreviated as OA and is also known as degenerative joint disease. Osteoarthritis will cause pain in the joints with activity. The knees and the hips are common joint locations that are affected with osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is common in people over 60 years of age, but it can affect younger people when they have had joint injury or surgery [2].
Osteoarthritis develops over decades, offering a long window of time to alter its course potentially. The etiology of osteoarthritis shows strong associations with highly modifiable risk factors such as mechanical overload, obesity and joint injury. Osteoarthritis
in its late-stage condition modifying disease opportunities is limited. Radiographic joint-space narrowing is highly insensitive measure used for centuris to diagnoise OA. Advances in optical imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have permitted direct imaging of joint tissues that helps in quantitative assessment of joint tissue structure [3]. But MRI require patient to stay still for a long time inside a machine. This can be uncomfortable. X- Ray and CT involve exposure to a small amount of radiation. IRT belongs to the functional imaging category; it provides a non-invasive and dynamic measure of the heat radiated from the 1–2 mm below the skin surface.[4]
Infrared thermal imaging has been used in a range of clinical applications in rheumatology including: the monitoring of skin temperature elevations for pain assessment [5-7], evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [8-11] hand OA [11,12] and knee OA[13-15], animal clinical trials[16].
Our goals were to standardize a method of knee infrared imaging to explore which distinct knee region provides the highest correlation of local temperature distribution with early radiographic findings of knee OA and to characterize osteoarthritis disease at early stage using Infrared Thermography which will allow a paradigm shift from palliation of late disease towards prevention. The early diagnosis and early treatment of joint injury and degeneration reduces osteoarthritis risk.
Osteoarthritis develops over decades, offering a long window of time to alter its course potentially. The etiology of osteoarthritis shows strong associations with highly modifiable risk factors such as mechanical overload, obesity and joint injury. Osteoarthritis
in its late-stage condition modifying disease opportunities is limited. Radiographic joint-space narrowing is highly insensitive measure used for centuris to diagnoise OA. Advances in optical imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have permitted direct imaging of joint tissues that helps in quantitative assessment of joint tissue structure [3]. But MRI require patient to stay still for a long time inside a machine. This can be uncomfortable. X- Ray and CT involve exposure to a small amount of radiation. IRT belongs to the functional imaging category; it provides a non-invasive and dynamic measure of the heat radiated from the 1–2 mm below the skin surface.[4]
Infrared thermal imaging has been used in a range of clinical applications in rheumatology including: the monitoring of skin temperature elevations for pain assessment [5-7], evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [8-11] hand OA [11,12] and knee OA[13-15], animal clinical trials[16].
Our goals were to standardize a method of knee infrared imaging to explore which distinct knee region provides the highest correlation of local temperature distribution with early radiographic findings of knee OA and to characterize osteoarthritis disease at early stage using Infrared Thermography which will allow a paradigm shift from palliation of late disease towards prevention. The early diagnosis and early treatment of joint injury and degeneration reduces osteoarthritis risk.