CT Arthrography, MR Arthrography, PET, and Scintigraphy in Osteoarthritis

Omoumi, Patrick; Mercier, Gustavo A.; Lecouvet, Frédéric; Simoni, Paolo; Vande Berg, Bruno C.

doi:10.1016/j.rcl.2009.04.005

« Previous Next »Radiologic Clinics of North America
Volume 47, Issue 4 , Pages 595-615, July 2009

CT Arthrography, MR Arthrography, PET, and Scintigraphy in Osteoarthritis

Patrick Omoumi, MD
- Department of Radiology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Radiology, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Tours, Tours, France
Gustavo A. Mercier, MD, PhD
- Department of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Boston University Center, Boston, MA, USA
Frédéric Lecouvet, MD, PhD
- Department of Radiology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
Paolo Simoni, MD
- Department of Radiology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
Bruno C. Vande Berg, MD, PhD
- Department of Radiology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Corresponding author.

CT arthrography and MR arthrography are accurate methods for the study of surface cartilage lesions and cartilage loss. They also provide information on subchondral bone and marrow changes, and ligaments and meniscal lesions that can be associated with osteoarthritis. Nuclear medicine also offers new insights in the assessment of the disease. This article discusses the strengths and limitations of CT arthrography and MR arthrography. It also highlights nuclear medicine methods that may be relevant to the study of osteoarthritis in research and clinical practice.

Keywords: CT arthrography, MR arthrography, PET, PET-CT, Scintigraphy, Osteoarthritis, Cartilage