Joint and Cartilage Diagnosis, Assessment and Modeling

Abstract

Methods for assessing the condition of a cartilage in a joint and assessing cartilage loss, particularly in a human knee, are disclosed. In one method, a method for modeling healthy cartilage, the method includes measuring the distance between each of at least two points on an articular cartilage surface corresponding to margins of a defect and a corresponding point on the sub-chondral bone surface, and interpolating a reconstructed cartilage boundary. In a second method, a method for generating a three-dimensional approximation of healthy cartilage, the method includes determining a set of distances between at least three points on a first articular surface corresponding to margins of a defect and at least three corresponding points on a second cartilage surface, and approximating a reconstructed cartilage surface.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 410,515, entitled “Joint and Cartilage Diagnosis, Assessment and Modeling” and filed on Apr. 25, 2006, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 953,373, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,814, entitled “Assessing the Condition of a Joint and Assessing Cartilage Loss” and filed on Sep. 14, 2001 and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 764,010, entitled “Assessing the Condition of a Joint and Devising Treatment” and filed on Jan. 22, 2004. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 953,373 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 882,363, entitled “Assessing the Condition of a Joint and Preventing Damage” and filed on Jun. 15, 2001, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 60 / 232,637 and 60 / 232,639, both filed on Sep. 14, 2000. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 882,363 is a conti...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Osteoarthritis is the most common condition to affect human joints as well as a frequent cause of loco motor pain and disability.

In spite of its societal impact and prevalence, however, there is a paucity of information on the factors that cause osteoarthritis to progress more rapidly in some individuals and not in others.

However, current MRI techniques cannot provide information on the relationship between the location of the cartilage loss and variations in the load bearing areas during the walking cycle.

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