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Objective Assessment of human joint cartilage is a crucial tool to detect and diagnose pathological conditions. This exploratory study developed a workflow for 3D modeling of cartilage and bone based on multimodal imaging. New evaluation metrics were created and, a unique set of data was gathered from healthy controls and patients with clinically evaluated degeneration or trauma. Design We present a novel methodology to evaluate knee bone and cartilage based on features extracted from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) data. We developed patient specific 3D models of the tibial, femoral, and patellar bones and cartilages. Forty-seven subjects with a history of degenerative disease, traumatic events, or no symptoms or trauma (control group) were recruited in this study. Ninety-six different measurements were extracted from each knee, 78 2D and 18 3D measurements. We compare the sensitivity of different metrics to classify the cartilage condition and evaluate degeneration. Results Selected features extracted show significant difference between the 3 groups. We created a cumulative index of bone properties that demonstrated the importance of bone condition to assess cartilage quality, obtaining the greatest sensitivity on femur within medial and femoropatellar compartments. We were able to classify degeneration with a maximum recall value of 95.9 where feature importance analysis showed a significant contribution of the 3D parameters. Conclusion The present work demonstrates the potential for improving sensitivity in cartilage assessment. Indeed, current trends in cartilage research point toward improving treatments and therefore our contribution is a first step toward sensitive and personalized evaluation of cartilage condition.

Basketball is a highly anaerobic game, that consists of high-intensity efforts followed by lower-intensity efforts. Postural deformities can be a limiting factor in achieving maximal performances in basketball. Flat feet are one of the most common deformities and they can lead to discomfort and pain. In this research we made an attempt to link the degree of feet flatness with sports performances in elite Icelandic female basketball players. A sample of 15 basketball players was tested on a podoscope to establish the degree of feet flatness and all participants performed drop jump, countermovement jump, 20m sprint and agility t-test. No significant correlation was observed, which means that feet flatness was not a limiting factor. However, we state that only strong and healthy feet might lead to excellent performance.