Purpose Meniscal calcifications are associated with meniscal degeneration and osteoarthritis (OA). However, differentiating calcification types, such as basic calcium phosphate (BCP) and calcium pyrophosphate (CPP), remains challenging in vivo . Therefore, assessing new imaging possibilities is crucial in understanding calcification pathologies and their relationship with OA. This study investigated whether dual-energy compute...

Purpose Clinical cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) devices are limited to imaging features of half a millimeter in size and cannot quantify the tissue microstructure. We demonstrate a robust deep-learning method for enhancing clinical CT images, only requiring a limited set of easy-to-acquire training data. Methods Knee tissue from five cadavers and six total knee replacement patients, and 14 teeth from eight patients were...

The collagen network is the highly organized backbone of articular cartilage providing tissue tensile stiffness and restricting proteoglycan bleaching out of the tissue. Osteoarthritis (OA) diminishes proper collagen network adaptation. Our aim was to provide quantitative three-dimensional (3D) information of the cartilage collagen network adaptation in early osteoarthritis using high resolution micro-computed tomography ( µ C...

Ligaments of the knee provide stability and prevent excessive motions of the joint. Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a common sports injury, results in an altered loading environment for other tissues in the joint, likely leading to their mechanical adaptation. In the collateral ligaments, the patterns and mechanisms of biomechanical adaptation following ACL transection (ACLT) remain unknown. We aimed to charac...

Injuries to the ligaments of the knee commonly impact vulnerable and physically active individuals. These injuries can lead to the development of degenerative diseases such as post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Non-invasive optical modalities, such as infrared and Raman spectroscopy, provide means for quantitative evaluation of knee joint tissues and have been proposed as potential quantitative diagnostic tools for arthrosc...

Finite element (FE) modeling is becoming an increasingly popular method for analyzing knee joint mechanics and biomechanical mechanisms leading to osteoarthritis (OA). The most common and widely available imaging method for knee OA diagnostics is planar X-ray imaging, while more sophisticated imaging methods, e.g., magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT), are seldom used. Hence, the capability to produce...

Osteoarthritis (OA) degrades articular cartilage and weakens its function. Modern fibril-reinforced poroelastic (FRPE) computational models can distinguish the mechanical properties of main cartilage constituents, namely collagen, proteoglycans, and fluid, thus, they can precisely characterize the complex mechanical behavior of the tissue. However, these properties are not known for human femoral condyle cartilage. Therefore,...

Collagen XIII is a conserved transmembrane collagen mainly expressed in mesenchymal tissues. Previously, we have shown that collagen XIII modulates tissue development and homeostasis. Integrins are a family of receptors that mediate signals from the environment into the cells and vice versa. Integrin α11β1 is a collagen receptor known to recognize the GFOGER (O=hydroxyproline) sequence in collagens. Interestingly, collagen XII...

The incidence of low-energy acetabular fractures has increased. However, the structural factors for these fractures remain unclear. The objective of this study was to extract trabecular bone architecture and proximal femur geometry (PFG) measures from clinical computed tomography (CT) images to (1) identify possible structural risk factors of acetabular fractures, and (2) to discriminate fracture cases from controls using mach...

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful joint disease, causing disabilities in daily activities. However, there is no known cure for OA, and the best treatment strategy might be prevention. Finite element (FE) modeling has demonstrated potential for evaluating personalized risks for the progression of OA. Current FE modeling approaches use primarily magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to construct personalized knee joint models. Ho...

Relationships between composition, structure and constituent-specific functional properties of human articular cartilage at different stages of osteoarthritis (OA) are poorly known. We established these relationships by comparison of elastic, viscoelastic and fibril-reinforced poroelastic mechanical properties with microscopic and spectroscopic analysis of structure and composition of healthy and osteoarthritic human tibial ca...

This study evaluates the feasibility of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to distinguish between different cartilage injury types associated with post-traumatic osteoarthritis and idiopathic osteoarthritis (OA) induced by mechanical and enzymatic damages. Bovine osteochondral samples ( n = 72) were subjected to mechanical ( n = 24) and enzymatic ( n = 36) damage; NIR spectral measurements were acquired from each sample before a...

Articular cartilage constituents (collagen, proteoglycans, fluid) are significantly altered during osteoarthritis (OA). A fibril-reinforced poroelastic (FRPE) material model can separate the contribution of each constituent on the mechanical response of cartilage. Yet, these properties and their OA related alterations are not known for human tibial cartilage. To answer this gap in the knowledge, we characterized the FRPE as we...

Contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) is a non-destructive imaging technique used for the assessment of composition and structure of articular cartilage and meniscus. Due to structural and compositional differences between these tissues, diffusion and distribution of contrast agents may differ in cartilage and meniscus. The aim of this study is to determine the diffusion kinematics of a novel iodine based cationic contr...