Osteoarthritis year in review 2024: Imaging

To review recent literature evidence describing imaging of osteoarthritis (OA) and to identify the current trends in research on OA imaging.

This is a narrative review of publications in English, published between April, 2023, and March, 2024. A Pubmed search was conducted using the following search terms: osteoarthritis/OA, radiography, ultrasound/US, computed tomography/CT, magnetic resonance imaging/MRI, DXA/DEXA, and artificial intelligence/AI/deep learning. Most publications focus on OA imaging in the knee and hip. Imaging of OA in other joints and OA imaging with artificial intelligence (AI) are also reviewed.

Compared to the same period last year (April 2022 - March 2023), there has been no significant change in the number of publications utilizing CT, MRI, and AI. A notable reduction in the number of OA research papers using radiography and ultrasound is noted. There were several observational studies focusing on imaging of knee OA, such as the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study, Rotterdam Study, Strontium ranelate efficacy in knee OA (SEKOIA) study, and the Osteoarthritis Initiative FNIH Biomarker study. Hip OA observational studies included, but not limited to, Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee study and UK Biobank study. Studies on emerging applications of AI in OA imaging were also covered. A small number of OA clinical trials were published with a focus on imaging-based outcomes.

MRI-based OA imaging research continues to play an important role compared to other modalities. Usage of various AI tools as an adjunct to human assessment is increasingly applied in OA imaging research.