Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Assessment

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects over 500 million people globally and poses diagnostic and management challenges due to its complex pathophysiology. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, particularly deep learning, are revolutionizing musculoskeletal radiology by enhancing radiograph and MR imaging analysis for OA and cartilage assessment. This article evaluates AI applications in radiograph analysis, including Kellgren-Lawrence grading and segmentation, and MR imaging tasks like sequence optimization, rapid acquisition, denoising, cartilage measurement, and scoring systems such as Whole-Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score, MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index.