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Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Through HR-pQCT Imaging Analysis
Published on: October 6, 2023
Advances in positron emission tomography for the imaging of rheumatoid arthritis
Nehal Narayan1, David R Owen2,3, Peter C Taylor1
1Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford.
Abstract:
Imaging techniques, such as US, are well recognized as important tools to aid early diagnosis and assess response to treatment in RA. PET offers a means of imaging the inflammatory processes of RA at a cellular level and thus may be a highly sensitive method of assessing synovitis. In this review we discuss the advantages of PET as an imaging modality for RA and summarize the existing clinical studies of PET in RA. We also highlight potentially important preclinical studies of PET in arthritis and discuss current limitations of PET as well as ongoing developments in PET technology likely to be of benefit for arthritis imaging.
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