Evaluation of distance maps from fast GRE MRI as a tool to study the knee joint space

A new three-dimensional (3D) method of evaluating the joint space from fast GRE MRI has been developed that allows the reconstruction of the two dimensional (2D) distance map between the femur and the tibia bone plates. This method uses the MRI data, an automated 3D segmentation, and an unsupervised joint space extraction algorithm that identify the medial and lateral compartments of the knee joint. The extracted medial and lateral compartments of the tibia-femur joint space were analyzed by 2D distance maps, where visual as well quantitative information was extracted. This method was applied to study the dynamic behavior of the knee joint space under axial load. Three healthy volunteers' knees were imaged using fast GRE sequences in a clinical scanner under unloaded (normal) conditions and with an axial load that mimics the person's standing load. Furthermore, one volunteer's knee was imaged at four regular time intervals while the load was applied and at four regular intervals without load. The results show that changes of 50 microns in the average distance between bones can be measured and that normal axial loads reduce the joint space width significantly and can be detected by this method.