Rapid CT-based Estimation of Articular Cartilage Biomechanics in the Knee Joint Without Cartilage Segmentation

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful joint disease, causing disabilities in daily activities. However, there is no known cure for OA, and the best treatment strategy might be prevention. Finite element (FE) modeling has demonstrated potential for evaluating personalized risks for the progression of OA. Current FE modeling approaches use primarily magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to construct personalized knee joint models. However, MRI is expensive and has lower resolution than computed tomography (CT). In this study, we extend a previously presented atlas-based FE modeling framework for automatic model generation and simulation of knee joint tissue responses using contrast agent-free CT. In this method, based on certain anatomical dimensions measured from bone surfaces, an optimal template is selected and scaled to generate a personalized FE model. We compared the simulated tissue responses of the CT-based models with those of the MRI-based models. We show that the CT-based models are capable of producing similar tensile stresses, fibril strains, and fluid pressures of knee joint cartilage compared to those of the MRI-based models. This study provides a new methodology for the analysis of knee joint and cartilage mechanics based on measurement of bone dimensions from native CT scans.

Rapid X-Ray-Based 3-D Finite Element Modeling of Medial Knee Joint Cartilage Biomechanics During Walking

“…FRPVE material parameters implemented in cartilage. 15,25,30,32,33,47,50 tions in internal-external positioning of the knee joint in X-ray images. 34 Thus, in our presented biomechanical results obtained from X-ray-and MRI-based models, the only possible source of differences in mean and peak values of mechanical parameters arise presumably due to differences in anatomical dimensions and subsequent template selection for model generation.…”

“…Additionally, only subjects with KL0 and KL1 grades were modeled. One of the reasons to include subjects based on KL0 and KL1 grade was to demonstrate that atlas-based approach 30 is applicable for knee joints that don't show X-ray-based cartilage degeneration. When utilizing the same best-matched template, 32 JSW has the most effective role on the predicted peak stress levels (see Supplementary Fig.…”

“… 32 We observed that CT-based knee models produce similar mechanical responses in knee joint cartilage as MRI-based models. 30 , 32 This was an important step and introduces the possibility of using native X-ray imaging, where only bones are visible, for FE model generation.…”

Expediting Finite Element Analyses for Subject-Specific Studies of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Literature Review

“…For the CT dataset, it takes even longer due to higher image resolution. Hence, the rapid generation of 3D geometries from medical images has received special attention not only for modeling purposes but for surgery planning and implant designing [44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. For example, Ambellan et al [44] automated the segmentation of MRI images via AI.…”

Lung Tissue Biomechanics Imaged with Synchrotron Phase Contrast Microtomography in Live Rats

“…The reason lies in the di culty of determining effective structural deformation, due to the motion blurring at microscopic resolution, which is induced by respiration and cardiovascular activity. Different imaging modalities such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) 8,9 , ultrasound (US) 10 , magnetic resonance tomography 11 (MRI) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) 12 have been used to quantify regional tissue strain, or the normalized deformation of a tissue that changes shape or volume following mechanical loading over time. Because of the limitations in tissue penetration (US, OCT) and spatial resolution (US, MRI), X-ray imaging is the most suitable modality for imaging the lung tissue morphology.…”