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First published on March 11, 2004, doi:10.1177/0363546503261725
This version was published on April 1, 2004
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Right arrow Degenerative Joint Disease
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The American Journal of Sports Medicine 32:693-698 (2004)
© 2004 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine

A New Device to Detect Early Cartilage Degeneration

Georg N. Duda, PhD*,{dagger}, Ralf U. Kleemann, MS{dagger}, Uwe Bluecher, MS{ddagger} and Andreas Weiler, MD{ddagger}

From the {dagger} Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery and the {ddagger} Medical-Technical Laboratory, Charite–University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany

* Address correspondence to Georg N. Duda, Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charite–University Medicine Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany (e-mail: georg.duda{at}charite.de).

Background: Currently available arthroscopic techniques do not allow the quantification of cartilage stiffness without direct mechanical indentation or penetration of the tissue.

Purpose: A novel device, capable of quantifying cartilage stiffness during arthroscopy, is believed to detect degenerated cartilage.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Methods: The stiffness of biological materials was measured arthroscopically without contact between the instrument and the examined object. Object deformation was produced by a flow of sodium chloride and measured optically. Eight ovine femoral condyles and tibial plateaus were tested in a native and degenerated (0.1% trypsin solution) state. Cartilage stiffness was nondestructively determined by using the new device and by indentation methods. In addition, a standard probe was measured by 5 independent users.

Results: The trypsin caused cartilage degeneration and consequently stiffness reduction, measured at 30.8% by the new device and 33.0% by indentation. A good correlation (r = 0.69) between the new device and the standard indentation procedure was observed. Intraindividual and interindividual variability of the new device were low (<10%).

Conclusions: The developed device has demonstrated the ability to quantify the mechanical quality of cartilage by means of mechanical stiffness measurements.

Clinical Relevance: The findings suggest that this device has the capability to detect cartilage degeneration at an early stage.

Key Words: articular cartilage • cartilage mechanics • stiffness • arthroscopy • indentation






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