Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dual-contrast micro-CT enables cartilage lesion detection and tissue condition evaluation ex vivo.
- Journal:
- Equine veterinary journal
- Year:
- 2023
- Authors:
- Honkanen, Miitu K M et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Applied Physics
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
In this study, researchers looked at a new imaging technique called dual-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (dual-CECT) to see if it could help detect cartilage damage in horses, specifically in Shetland ponies. They created injuries in the cartilage of the ponies' joints and then used this imaging method to assess the damage after the ponies were euthanized. The results showed that the dual-CECT could effectively identify the lesions and evaluate the health of the cartilage, providing a clearer picture of the injury's severity. However, this study had some limitations, such as being done on a small number of joints and not in living animals. Overall, the dual-CECT method proved to be effective for detecting cartilage damage and assessing its condition.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic osteoarthritis is a frequent joint disease in the horse. Currently, equine medicine lacks effective methods to diagnose the severity of chondral defects after an injury. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the capability of dual-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (dual-CECT) for detection of chondral lesions and evaluation of the severity of articular cartilage degeneration in the equine carpus ex vivo. STUDY DESIGN: Pre-clinical experimental study. METHODS: In nine Shetland ponies, blunt and sharp grooves were randomly created (in vivo) in the cartilage of radiocarpal and middle carpal joints. The contralateral joint served as control. The ponies were subjected to an 8-week exercise protocol and euthanised 39 weeks after surgery. CECT scanning (ex vivo) of the joints was performed using a micro-CT scanner 1 hour after an intra-articular injection of a dual-contrast agent. The dual-contrast agent consisted of ioxaglate (negatively charged, q = -1) and bismuth nanoparticles (BiNPs, q = 0, diameter ≈ 0.2 µm). CECT results were compared to histological cartilage proteoglycan content maps acquired using digital densitometry. RESULTS: BiNPs enabled prolonged visual detection of both groove types as they are too large to diffuse into the cartilage. Furthermore, proportional ioxaglate diffusion inside the tissue allowed differentiation between the lesion and ungrooved articular cartilage (3 mm from the lesion and contralateral joint). The mean ioxaglate partition in the lesion was 19 percentage points higher (P < 0.001) when compared with the contralateral joint. The digital densitometry and the dual-contrast CECT findings showed good subjective visual agreement. MAIN LIMITATIONS: Ex vivo study protocol and a low number of investigated joints. CONCLUSIONS: The dual-CECT methodology, used in this study for the first time to image whole equine joints, is capable of effective lesion detection and simultaneous evaluation of the condition of the articular cartilage.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35353399/