Design of a magnetic resonance imaging and micro-computed tomography compatible ovine stifle joint loading device to assess osteoarthritis progression

Osteoarthritis is a potentially debilitating disease which can affect all the body's joints. There is no cure and limited treatments, often leading to joint replacement surgery. Medical imaging techniques can be used to non-invasively assess the state of soft tissue of an intact knee but not under weight bearing conditions. To allow weight bearing studies, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and micro-computed tomography (μCT) compatible joint loading device was built to house an ovine (sheep) stifle (knee) at physiologic angles while applying physiologic loads. The simulator maintained the knee flexion angle, applied a constant load and did not create image artefacts. With this joint simulator the movement of the meniscus in a healthy stifle was evaluated using MR and μCT images. Meniscus volume, external (EID) and internal interhorn (IID) distance, and height were measured for both unloaded and loaded images.

Keywords: knee joint simulator, knee joint biomechanics, menisci, osteoarthritis, magnetic resonance, micro-computed tomography