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Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Through HR-pQCT Imaging Analysis
Published on: October 6, 2023
The SPECTRA Collaboration OMERACT Working Group: Construct Validity of Joint Space Outcomes with High-resolution
Sarah L Manske1,2, Scott C Brunet3,4, Stephanie Finzel3,4
1From the Department of Radiology, and Department of Medicine, McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary; Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Leeds Institute for Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds and UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds, UK. smanske@ucalgary.ca.
Objective:
We assessed construct validity of high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) joint space outcomes by comparison with radiographs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Methods:
In 43 patients, quantitative, volumetric, HR-pQCT measurements were compared with ordinal Sharp/van der Heijde scoring (SvdH) in the 2nd and 3rd metacarpophalangeal joints.
Results:
Generalized estimating equations showed that joint space minimum, SD, and asymmetry by HR-pQCT were associated with SvdH scores (p < 0.05). There was a considerable range in HR-pQCT measurements at SvdH equal to 0.
Conclusion:
HR-pQCT demonstrated construct validity outcomes and provides improved 3-D visualization of joint space.
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