Optical coherence tomography-based parameterization and quantification of articular cartilage surface integrity

Loss of articular cartilage surface integrity is considered the earliest sign of osteoarthritis; however, its reliable detection has not been established by clinical routine diagnostics. This study comprehensively assesses a set of 11 algorithm-based 2-D Optical Coherence Tomography roughness parameters and investigates their clinical impact. Histology and manual irregularity quantification of 105 human cartilage samples with variable degeneration served as reference. The majority of parameters revealed a close-to-linear correlation with the entire spectrum of degeneration. Surface integrity should therefore be assessed by a combination of parameters to improve current diagnostic accuracy in the determination of cartilage degeneration.