Computer-aided method for quantification of cartilage thickness and volume changes using MRI: validation study using a synthetic model

The primary objective of this study was to develop a computer-aided method for the quantification of three-dimensional (3-D) cartilage changes over time in knees with osteoarthritis (OA). We introduced a local coordinate system (LCS) for the femoral and tibial cartilage boundaries that provides a standardized representation of cartilage geometry, thickness, and volume. The LCS can be registered in different data sets from the same patient so that results can be directly compared. Cartilage boundaries are segmented from 3-D magnetic resonance (MR) slices with a semi-automated method and transformed into offset-maps , defined by the LCS. Volumes and thickness are computed from these offset-maps. Further anatomical labeling allows focal volumes to be evaluated in predefined subregions. The accuracy of the automated behavior of the method was assessed, without any human intervention, using realistic, synthetic 3-D MR images of a human knee. The error in thickness evaluation is lower than 0.12 mm for the tibia and femur. Cartilage volumes in anatomical subregions show a coefficient of variation ranging from 0.11% to 0.32%. This method improves noninvasive 3-D analysis of cartilage thickness and volume and is well suited for in vivo follow-up clinical studies of OA knees.

[1]  Z A C,et al.  Knee cartilage topography , thickness , and contact areas from MRI : in-vitro calibration and in-vivo measurements , 1999 .

[2]  Benoit Godbout,et al.  A simple 2D active contour model to segment non-convex objects in 3D images , 1998 .

[3]  T. Stammberger,et al.  Determination of 3D cartilage thickness data from MR imaging: Computational method and reproducibility in the living , 1999, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[4]  J C Buckland-Wright,et al.  Accuracy and precision of joint space width measurements in standard and macroradiographs of osteoarthritic knees. , 1995, Annals of the rheumatic diseases.

[5]  D J Drost,et al.  Computing the modulation transfer function of a magnetic resonance imager. , 1994, Medical physics.

[6]  T P Andriacchi,et al.  Methods for evaluating the progression of osteoarthritis. , 2000, Journal of rehabilitation research and development.

[7]  A. Evans,et al.  MRI simulation-based evaluation of image-processing and classification methods , 1999, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging.

[8]  G A Ateshian,et al.  Knee cartilage topography, thickness, and contact areas from MRI: in-vitro calibration and in-vivo measurements. , 1999, Osteoarthritis and cartilage.

[9]  F Eckstein,et al.  A non-invasive technique for 3-dimensional assessment of articular cartilage thickness based on MRI. Part 1: Development of a computational method. , 1997, Magnetic resonance imaging.

[10]  A. Papoulis,et al.  The Fourier Integral and Its Applications , 1963 .

[11]  H. Gudbjartsson,et al.  The rician distribution of noisy mri data , 1995, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[12]  Barbara Waegli.  Investigations Into The Noise Characteristics Of Digitized Aerial Images , 1998 .

[13]  Edward H. Adelson,et al.  The Laplacian Pyramid as a Compact Image Code , 1983, IEEE Trans. Commun..

[14]  F Eckstein,et al.  Accuracy of cartilage volume and thickness measurements with magnetic resonance imaging. , 1998, Clinical orthopaedics and related research.

[15]  Thomas O. Binford,et al.  On Detecting Edges , 1986, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence.

[16]  G W Torrance,et al.  A prospective, randomized, pragmatic, health outcomes trial evaluating the incorporation of hylan G-F 20 into the treatment paradigm for patients with knee osteoarthritis (Part 1 of 2): clinical results. , 2002, Osteoarthritis and cartilage.

[17]  D G Disler,et al.  Articular cartilage volume in the knee: semiautomated determination from three-dimensional reformations of MR images. , 1996, Radiology.

[18]  M. Hochberg,et al.  Reliability of a quantification imaging system using magnetic resonance images to measure cartilage thickness and volume in human normal and osteoarthritic knees. , 2003, Osteoarthritis and cartilage.

[19]  E. Bolinder.  The Fourier integral and its applications , 1963 .

[20]  William H. Press,et al.  Numerical recipes in C , 2002 .

[21]  L D Hall,et al.  Measurement of localized cartilage volume and thickness of human knee joints by computer analysis of three-dimensional magnetic resonance images. , 1998, Investigative radiology.