Osteoarthritis year in review 2022: imaging

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics and Imaging Science
• Biomedical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence

Background:

• Osteoarthritis (OA) research increasingly utilizes advanced imaging techniques.
• Large open-access databases are a growing resource in OA studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review original research on osteoarthritis imaging published between April 2021 and March 2022.
• To focus on in vivo human studies of OA imaging modalities and artificial intelligence applications.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science.
• Keywords included "Osteoarthritis/OA", "Radiography", "Ultrasound/US", "Computed Tomography/CT", "DXA", "Magnetic Resonance Imaging/MRI", "Artificial Intelligence/AI", and "Deep Learning".
• Analysis of research focus on tibiofemoral, patellofemoral, hip, and hand joints.

Main Results:

• Compositional MRI is a prominent imaging modality for OA, with biomarkers aiding preclinical detection and outcome prediction.
• A significant increase in publications on artificial intelligence applications in OA imaging, including prediction models and trabecular texture analysis.
• The use of open-access large databases has plateaued.

Conclusions:

• Imaging remains crucial in osteoarthritis research, with a growing emphasis on integrating artificial intelligence (AI).
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows the highest prevalence, while ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) are readily available.
• AI techniques for texture analysis and OA progression prediction are seeing increased development and validation.