Objective assessment of knee osteroarthritis in parachuters by bioimpedance spectroscopy

The aim of the present study was to derive an objective and noninvasive assessment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint by bioimpedance spectrocopy (BIS). The study was performed in Brazilian Military Parachuters and intends to contribute to the improvement of the early diagnosis of joint degeneration. Twelve male volunteers (24 knee joints) participated in the study. A novel index (ID) to assess the disease was proposed from the raw bioimpedance parameter. This index was compared with a subjective rating (Dejour scale) performed by 3 therapists. The results indicated that the values of ID were significantly different (p0.001) between the control group (class 1 of Dejour) and the pathological group (class 2 or higher). A Spearman correlation of -0.81 between the values of ID and the therapists rating was detected. Despite the need of increasing the sample size, the novel technique seems to be capable of supplying an objective and non-invasive tool for helping the diagnosis of the knee osteoarthritis.