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Updated: Apr 3, 2026
Automated Joint Space Detection Improves Bone Segmentation Accuracy
Published on: November 28, 2025
Predictive value of bone scintigraphy for the detection of joint involvement in Behçet's disease: Dermatologists'
Jimyung Seo1, Minseok Lee1, Min Ju Choi1
1Department of Dermatology, Severance Hospital, Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Background:
Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic inflammatory disease with articular involvement. Non-specific arthralgia without objective signs of arthritis, such as swelling or effusion, is common in such patients. Thus, an accurate diagnosis of joint involvement may be challenging for dermatologists.
Objectives:
To evaluate the validity of (99m)Tc-methylene diphosphonate (Tc-99m-MDP) bone scintigraphy for joint involvement assessment in patients with BD.
Materials And Methods:
In 211 patients with BD who had scintigraphic evaluations due to joint symptoms, agreement between bone scintigraphy findings and clinically evaluated joint complaints was retrospectively assessed using Cohen's kappa (κ) statistic. A patient subset (n = 104) showing agreement between joint complaints and scintigraphy results was re-evaluated by a rheumatologist to determine the level of diagnostic specificity attained by combining bone scintigraphy with clinical examinations of dermatologists.
Results:
The total kappa value (211 patients) was 0.604, indicating fair agreement between joint complaints and scintigraphy results. Individual analysis of eleven joint categories revealed statistically significant correlations for wrist (κ = 0.677), shoulder (κ = 0.661), and foot joints (κ = 0.618). Of the 104 referrals to a rheumatologist, 95 (91.34%) were confirmed as having BD-associated articular involvement. Joint acral areas (e.g., foot, hand, wrist and shoulder) that had the highest kappa value correlations also ranked highest in diagnostic specificity.
Conclusion:
Bone scintigraphy presents a simple and useful option for dermatologists to assess joint involvement in BD patients, especially for specific anatomic sites.
