Novel imaging techniques for sacroiliac joint assessment.

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Rheumatology

Background:

• Sacroiliac joint imaging is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring axial spondyloarthritis.
• Understanding both structural and active inflammatory lesions in sacroiliitis is key to disease management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of novel imaging techniques for sacroiliac joint assessment.
• To discuss the benefits and limitations of these emerging technologies.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent advancements in imaging modalities for sacroiliac joints.
• Focus on dual-energy computed tomography (CT) and advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences.

Main Results:

• Dual-energy CT effectively detects bone marrow edema, serving as an alternative to MRI.
• Advanced MRI techniques, including 3D gradient echo, susceptibility-weighted imaging, and deep learning-based synthetic CT, enhance visualization of erosions and osseous lesions.

Conclusions:

• New imaging innovations significantly improve the assessment of spondyloarthritis.
• Advanced MRI techniques enable accurate detection of both structural and inflammatory sacroiliitis lesions in a single session.