Tse Justin J, Brunet Scott C, Salat Peter, Hazlewood Glen S, Barnabe Cheryl, Manske Sarah L
Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Cumming School of Medicine, McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2020 Sep 25;7:545097. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.545097. eCollection 2020.
Combining results from multiple imaging techniques (i.e., multi-modal imaging) through image registration can result in the better characterization of joint tissue characteristics. In the context of inflammatory arthritis conditions, high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) provides excellent bone contrast while magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides superior contrast and resolution of soft tissue and inflammatory characteristics. Superimposing these imaging results upon each other provides a robust characterization of the joint. In a preliminary study of nine rheumatoid arthritis (RA) participants in clinical remission, we acquired HR-pQCT and MR images of their 2nd and 3rd metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints at two timepoints 6 months apart. We present the benefits of a multi-modal imaging approach, in which we demonstrate the ability to localize regions of inflammation with subtle changes in bone erosion volume. Using HR-pQCT and MRI to visualize bone damage and inflammation, respectively, will improve our understanding of the impact that subclinical inflammation has on bone damage progression, and demonstrating if bone repair occurs where inflammation is resolved. The presented multi-modal imaging technique has the potential to study the progression of bone damage in relation to inflammation that otherwise would not be possible with either imaging technique alone. The multi-modal image registration technique will be helpful to understanding the development and pathogenesis of RA-associated bone erosions. Additionally, multi-modal imaging may provide a technique to probe the tissue-level changes that occur as a result of treatment regimes.
通过图像配准将多种成像技术（即多模态成像）的结果相结合，能够更好地表征关节组织特征。在炎性关节炎病症的背景下，高分辨率外周定量计算机断层扫描（HR-pQCT）能提供出色的骨骼对比度，而磁共振成像（MRI）则能提供软组织和炎症特征的卓越对比度及分辨率。将这些成像结果相互叠加可对关节进行有力的表征。在一项针对9名处于临床缓解期的类风湿关节炎（RA）患者的初步研究中，我们在相隔6个月的两个时间点获取了他们第二和第三掌指（MCP）关节的HR-pQCT和磁共振图像。我们展示了多模态成像方法的优势，其中我们证明了能够定位炎症区域，这些区域在骨侵蚀体积上有细微变化。分别使用HR-pQCT和MRI来可视化骨损伤和炎症，将增进我们对亚临床炎症对骨损伤进展影响的理解，并证明在炎症消退的部位是否发生骨修复。所展示的多模态成像技术有潜力研究与炎症相关的骨损伤进展，而这单用任何一种成像技术都无法做到。多模态图像配准技术将有助于理解RA相关骨侵蚀的发展和发病机制。此外，多模态成像可能提供一种技术来探究因治疗方案而发生的组织水平变化。
