233
1.
Casula V, Hirvasniemi J, Lehenkari P, Ojala R, Haapea M, Saarakkala S, et al. (2016) Association between
234
quantitative MRI and ICRS arthroscopic grading of articular cartilage. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc
235
24(6):2046-2054
236
2.
Harkey MS, Blackburn JT, Davis H, Sierra-Arevalo L, Nissman D, Pietrosimone B (2017) Ultrasonographic
237
assessment of medial femoral cartilage deformation acutely following walking and running. Osteoarthritis
238
Cartilage 25(6):907-913
239
3.
echo intensity associates with arthroscopic cartilage damage. Ultrasound Med Biol 47(1):43-50
240
241
4.
5.
Landis JR, Koch GG (1977) The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics
33(1):159-174
244
245
Koo TK, Li MY (2016) A guideline of selecting and reporting intraclass correlation coefficients for reliability
research. J Chiropr Med 15(2):155-163
242
243
Harkey MS, Little E, Thompson M, Zhang M, Driban JB, Salzler MJ (2021) Femoral cartilage ultrasound
6.
MacKay JW, Low SBL, Smith TO, Toms AP, McCaskie AW, Gilbert FJ (2018) Systematic review and meta-
246
analysis of the reliability and discriminative validity of cartilage compositional MRI in knee osteoarthritis.
247
Osteoarthritis Cartilage 26(9):1140-1152
248
7.
Imaging Med Surg 3(3):162-174
249
250
Matzat SJ, van Tiel J, Gold GE, Oei EH (2013) Quantitative MRI techniques of cartilage composition. Quant
8.
Migliore A, Gigliucci G, Alekseeva L, Avasthi S, Bannuru RR, Chevalier X, et al. (2019) Treat-to-target
251
strategy for knee osteoarthritis. International technical expert panel consensus and good clinical practice
252
statements. Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis 11:1759720x19893800
253
9.
osteoarthritis of the knee using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Pol J Radiol 84:e549-e564
254
255
10.
Moller I, Bong D, Naredo E, Filippucci E, Carrasco I, Moragues C, et al. (2008) Ultrasound in the study and
monitoring of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 16 Suppl 3:S4-7
256
257
Mittal S, Pradhan G, Singh S, Batra R (2019) T1 and T2 mapping of articular cartilage and menisci in early
11.
Okano T, Filippucci E, Di Carlo M, Draghessi A, Carotti M, Salaffi F, et al. (2016) Ultrasonographic
258
evaluation of joint damage in knee osteoarthritis: feature-specific comparisons with conventional
259
radiography. Rheumatology (Oxford) 55(11):2040-2049
260
12.
Pamukoff DN, Vakula MN, Holmes SC, Shumski EJ, Garcia SA (2020) Body mass index moderates the
261
association between gait kinetics, body composition, and femoral knee cartilage characteristics. J Orthop
262
Res 38(12):2685-2695
263
13.
Reichenbach S, Yang M, Eckstein F, Niu J, Hunter DJ, McLennan CE, et al. (2010) Does cartilage volume
264
or thickness distinguish knees with and without mild radiographic osteoarthritis? The Framingham Study.
265
Ann Rheum Dis 69(1):143-149
266
14.
Saarakkala S, Waris P, Waris V, Tarkiainen I, Karvanen E, Aarnio J, et al. (2012) Diagnostic performance of
267
knee ultrasonography for detecting degenerative changes of articular cartilage. Osteoarthritis Cartilage
268
20(5):376-381
269
15.
thickness: A comparison between ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging methods. Knee 24(2):217-223
270
271
16.
Scuderi GR, Bourne RB, Noble PC, Benjamin JB, Lonner JH, Scott WN (2012) The new Knee Society Knee
Scoring System. Clin Orthop Relat Res 470(1):3-19
272
273
Schmitz RJ, Wang HM, Polprasert DR, Kraft RA, Pietrosimone BG (2017) Evaluation of knee cartilage
17.
Stefanik JJ, Guermazi A, Roemer FW, Peat G, Niu J, Segal NA, et al. (2016) Changes in patellofemoral and
274
tibiofemoral joint cartilage damage and bone marrow lesions over 7 years: the Multicenter Osteoarthritis
275
Study. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 24(7):1160-1166
276
18.
Stehling C, Liebl H, Krug R, Lane NE, Nevitt MC, Lynch J, et al. (2010) Patellar cartilage: T2 values and
277
morphologic abnormalities at 3.0-T MR imaging in relation to physical activity in asymptomatic subjects
278
from the osteoarthritis initiative. Radiology 254(2):509-520
279
19.
Surowiec RK, Lucas EP, Ho CP (2014) Quantitative MRI in the evaluation of articular cartilage health:
280
reproducibility and variability with a focus on T2 mapping. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc
281
22(6):1385-1395
282
20.
Taniguchi M, Ikezoe T, Kamitani T, Tsuboyama T, Ito H, Matsuda S, et al. (2021) Extracellular-to-
283
intracellular water ratios are associated with functional disability levels in patients with knee osteoarthritis:
284
results from the Nagahama Study. Clin Rheumatol 40(7):2889-2896
285
21.
Taniguchi N, Matsuda S, Kawaguchi T, Tabara Y, Ikezoe T, Tsuboyama T, et al. (2015) The KSS 2011 reflects
286
symptoms, physical activities, and radiographic grades in a Japanese population. Clin Orthop Relat Res
287
473(1):70-75
288
289
22.
Vannini F, Spalding T, Andriolo L, Berruto M, Denti M, Espregueira-Mendes J, et al. (2016) Sport and early
osteoarthritis: the role of sport in aetiology, progression and treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Knee Surg
10
Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 24(6):1786-1796
290
291
23.
Wirth W, Hunter DJ, Nevitt MC, Sharma L, Kwoh CK, Ladel C, et al. (2017) Predictive and concurrent
292
validity of cartilage thickness change as a marker of knee osteoarthritis progression: data from the
293
Osteoarthritis Initiative. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 25(12):2063-2071
294
24.
Yamagata M, Taniguchi M, Tateuchi H, Kobayashi M, Ichihashi N (2021) The effects of knee pain on knee
295
contact force and external knee adduction moment in patients with knee osteoarthritis. J Biomech
296
123:110538
297
298
11
299
Tables
300
Table 1 Participant demographic characteristics
Age, y
Control
Early OA
Grade 2
68.3±11.0
Height, cm
vs
eOA
vs 2
Weight, kg
p=0.033
Knee ROM, °
vs
151.0±6.0
eOA
vs 2
vs 3
p=0.014
vs 3
p=0.001
vs 4
p=0.008
vs 4
p<0.001
vs 2
n.s.
vs 2
n.s.
n.s.
vs 2
n.s.
vs
eOA
vs 2
vs 3
n.s.
vs 3
n.s.
vs 4
p=0.045
vs 4
n.s.
n.s.
154.3±5.9 vs eOA
n.s.
47.8±4.5
n.s.
n.s.
153.4±4.0 vs 2
n.s.
vs 3
n.s.
vs 3
n.s.
vs 3
n.s.
vs 3
n.s.
vs 4
p=0.018
vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
p<0.001
vs 3
n.s.
155.0±5.7 vs 3
n.s.
vs 3
n.s.
vs 3
n.s.
vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
p<0.001
n.s.
155.3±5.5 vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
p<0.001
Grade 3
72.6±7.3
vs 4
Grade 4
75.9±8.9
152.6±7.1 -
55.3±8.7
56.8±9.7
57.2±10.5 -
146.4±6.5
n.s.
66.3±11.4 vs 2
72.4±8.4
54.8±8.9
n.s.
145.4±7.4
140.3±7.4
129.2±11.3 -
301
Total
71.9±8.9
154.3±5.9
54.8±9.3
141.9±11.1
Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Bold text indicates a significant difference in the Sidak post hoc test.
302
OA: osteoarthritis, ROM: range of motion, eOA: early OA, 2: grade 2, 3: grade 3, 4: grade 4, n.s.: not significant
303
304
305
306
307
308
Table 2 Comparison of the femoral cartilage ultrasonographic outcomes between knees with varying OA grades
Control
Early OA
Grade 2
LS thickness, mm
vs
1.4±0.1
n.s.
eOA
vs 2
n.s.
ST thickness, mm
vs
1.6±0.1
n.s.
eOA
vs 2
p=0.02
26.5±2.4
vs eOA
n.s.
vs 2
n.s.
p=0.001
vs 3
p=0.001
vs 3
p=0.04
vs 3
n.s.
vs 4
p<0.001
vs 4
p=0.009
vs 4
p<0.001
vs 4
n.s.
vs 2
n.s.
1.4±0.1 vs 2
n.s.
24.5±3.0 vs 2
n.s.
1.5±0.1 vs 2
n.s.
29.7±2.9
vs 3
p=0.003
vs 3
p=0.015
vs 3
n.s.
vs 3
n.s.
vs 4
p=<0.001
vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
p<0.001
vs 4
n.s.
31.9±1.7 vs 3
n.s.
1.3±0.1 vs 3
vs 3
n.s.
vs 4
n.s.
vs 4
p<0.001
vs 4
n.s.
36.5±2.1 vs 4
n.s.
1.3±0.1 vs 4
p=0.004
32.1±2.1
vs 4
n.s.
32.0±2.2
1.2±0.1 vs 3
1.0±0.1 vs 4
n.s.
p<0.001
n.s.
n.s.
Grade 4
0.8±0.1 34.6±2.1 0.9±0.1 309
Data are shown as mean ± standard error. Bold text indicates a significant difference in the Sidak post hoc test.
310
ST echo intensity, a.u.
vs 3
vs 4
Grade 3
LS echo intensity, a.u.
vs
23.5±2.4
n.s.
eOA
vs 2
p=0.049
32.0±1.6
OA: osteoarthritis, LS: longitudinal sagittal, ST: suprapatellar transverse, eOA: early OA, 2: grade 2, 3: grade 3, 4: grade 4, n.s.: not significant, a.u.: arbitrary unit
311
312
313
314
315
316
Figures
317
Fig. 1 Ultrasonographic image of the femoral cartilage
318
319
a. Longitudinal and b. transverse images. The region inside the yellow line represents the area analyzed. The transverse
320
images were manually segmented using a previously described method [3]. The intercondylar zone was defined as the
321
middle 25% of the image, centered at the deepest point of the intercondylar notch. The medial femoral zone was defined
322
as the portion to the right side of the intercondylar zone. In this study, we analyzed only the medial compartment.
323
324
Fig. 2 Unadjusted thickness and echo intensity of the femoral medial cartilage in each group
325
326
The top and bottom line represent the maximum and minimum values of cartilage thickness and echo intensity,
327
respectively. The top and bottom line of the boxes represent the third and first quartiles, and the line in the boxes represent
328
the median. LS : longitudinal sagittal, ST : suprapatellar transverse
Supplemental file 1 Differences of femoral cartilage ultrasound outcomes between knee OA grade
LS thickness, mm
vs control
vs early OA
vs grade 2
vs grade 3
LS echo intensity, a.u.
ST thickness, mm
ST echo intensity, a.u.
difference
95% CI
P value
difference
95% CI
P value
difference
95% CI
P value
difference
95% CI
P value
early OA
0.02
-0.33 to 0.38
>0.99
0.99
-9.84 to 11.81
>0.99
-0.08
-0.44 to 0.28
>0.99
3.15
-7.44 to 13.75
0.99
grade 2
-0.21
-0.48 to 0.07
0.28
8.44
0.05 to 16.87
0.049
-0.31
-0.59 to -0.03
0.02
5.43
-2.79 to 13.65
0.47
grade 3
-0.43
-0.73 to -0.13
0.001
13.05
3.86 to 22.24
0.001
-0.31
-0.62 to -0.006
0.04
5.57
-3.48 to 14.62
0.57
grade 4
-0.66
-0.97 to -0.36
<0.001
11.11
1.84 to 20.38
0.009
-0.68
-0.99 to -0.37
<0.001
5.45
-3.85 to 14.75
0.64
grade 2
-0.24
-0.56 to 0.09
0.35
7.45
-2.46 to 17.36
0.29
-0.23
-0.56 to 0.10
0.37
2.28
-7.40 to 11.95
>0.99
grade 3
-0.45
-0.80 to -0.10
0.003
12.06
1.49 to 22.64
0.015
-0.24
-0.59 to 0.12
0.44
2.42
-7.97 to 12.81
>0.99
grade 4
-0.69
-1.04 to -0.33
<0.001
10.13
-0.52 to 20.77
0.07
-0.61
-0.97 to -0.25
<0.001
2.30
-8.32 to 12.91
>0.99
grade 3
-0.22
-0.47 to 0.03
0.13
4.61
-2.94 to 12.16
0.58
-0.004
-0.26 to 0.25
>0.99
0.14
-7.59 to 7.31
>0.99
grade 4
-0.45
-0.70 to -0.20
<0.001
2.67
-4.90 to 10.25
0.98
-0.37
-0.63 to -0.11
0.001
0.02
-7.64 to 7.68
>0.99
grade 4
-0.23
-0.51 to 0.04
0.17
-1.94
-10.32 to 6.44
>0.99
-0.37
-0.66 to -0.08
0.004
-0.12
-8.68 to 8.44
>0.99
Post hoc analyses with the Sidak correction after the general linear model were performed to compare cartilage thickness and echo intensity in two portions of the femoral medial
condyle among knee OA grades. Bold font indicates a statistically significant difference. OA: osteoarthritis; LS: longitudinal-sagittal; ST: suprapatellar transverse; difference: adjusted
mean difference; CI: confidence interval
...