To evaluate in vivo the evolution of osteoarthritis (OA) lesions temporally in a rabbit model of OA with clinically available imaging modalities: computed radiography (CR), helical single-slice computed tomography (CT), and 1.5 tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Imaging was performed on knees of anesthetized rabbits [10 anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) and contralateral sham joints and six control rabbits] at baseline and at intervals up to 12 weeks post-surgery. Osteophytosis, subchondral bone sclerosis, bone marrow lesions (BMLs), femoropatellar effusion and articular cartilage were assessed.
CT had the highest sensitivity (90%) and specificity (91%) to detect osteophytes. A significant increase in total joint osteophyte score occurred at all time-points post-operatively in the ACLT group alone. BMLs were identified and occurred most commonly in the lateral femoral condyle of the ACLT joints and were not identified in the tibia. A significant increase in joint effusion was present in the ACLT joints until 8 weeks after surgery. Bone sclerosis or cartilage defects were not reliably assessed with the selected imaging modalities.
Combined, clinically available CT and 1.5 T MRI allowed the assessment of most of the characteristic lesions of OA and at early time-points in the development of the disease. However, the selected 1.5 T MRI sequences and acquisition times did not permit the detection of cartilage lesions in this rabbit OA model.