Proposal for a nomenclature for Magnetic Resonance Imaging based measures of articular cartilage in osteoarthritis1

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Summary

Objective

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of articular cartilage has evolved to be an important tool in research on cartilage (patho)physiology and osteoarthritis (OA). MRI provides a wealth of novel and quantitative information, but there exists no commonly accepted terminology for reporting these metrics. The objective of this initiative was to propose a nomenclature for definitions and names to be used in scientific communications and to give recommendations as to which minimal methodological information should be provided when reporting MRI-based measures of articular cartilage in OA.

Methods

An international group of experts with direct experience in MRI measurement of cartilage morphology or composition reviewed the existing literature. Through an iterative process that included a meeting with a larger group of scientists and clinicians (December 2nd, 2004, Chicago, IL, USA), they discussed, refined, and proposed a nomenclature for MRI-based measures of articular cartilage in OA.

Results

The group proposes a nomenclature that describes: (1) the anatomical location and (2) the structural feature being measured, each name consisting of a metric variable combined with a tissue label. In addition, the group recommends minimal methodological information that should be described.

Conclusions

Utilization of this nomenclature should facilitate communication within the scientific community. Further, the uniform adoption of comprehensive nomenclature to describe quantitative MRI- features of articular cartilage should strengthen epidemiological, clinical, and pharmacological studies in OA.

Key words

Nomenclature
Cartilage
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Osteoarthritis

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1

Funding Source: This initiative has been supported by grants from: Novartis Pharma (Basel, Switzerland); Pfizer Global Research & Development (Ann Arbor, MI, USA); Amgen (Thousand Oaks, CA, USA); Rotta Research Laboratories (Milan, Italy); Sanofi Aventis (Frankfurt, Germany); DePuy Spine, Inc. (Raynham, MA, USA) and AstraZeneca (Macclesfield, UK);NIH AR47785.