D'Agostino Valerio, Sorriento Angela, Cafarelli Andrea, Donati Danilo, Papalexis Nicolas, Russo Alessandro, Lisignoli Gina, Ricotti Leonardo, Spinnato Paolo
Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via GC Pupilli 1, 40136 Bologna, Italy.
Radiology Unit, Policlinico Ospedaliero "Umberto I", Nocera Inferiore, 84014 Salerno, Italy.
J Clin Med. 2024 Aug 21;13(16):4930. doi: 10.3390/jcm13164930.
While conventional radiography and MRI have a well-established role in the assessment of patients with knee osteoarthritis, ultrasound is considered a complementary and additional tool. Moreover, the actual usefulness of ultrasound is still a matter of debate in knee osteoarthritis assessment. Despite that, ultrasound offers several advantages and interesting aspects for both current clinical practice and future perspectives. Ultrasound is potentially a helpful tool in the detection of anomalies such as cartilage degradation, osteophytes, and synovitis in cases of knee osteoarthritis. Furthermore, local diagnostic and minimally invasive therapeutic operations pertaining to knee osteoarthritis can be safely guided by real-time ultrasound imaging. We are constantly observing a growing knowledge and awareness among radiologists and other physicians, concerning ultrasound imaging. Ultrasound studies can be extremely useful to track the response to various therapies. For this specific aim, tele-ultrasonography may constitute an easy tool aiding precise and repeated follow-up controls. Moreover, raw radio-frequency data from US backscattering signals contain more information than B-mode imaging. This paves the way for quantitative in-depth analyses of cartilage, bone, and other articular structures. Overall, ultrasound technologies and their rapid evolution have the potential to make a difference at both the research and clinical levels. This narrative review article describes the potential of such technologies and their possible future implications.
虽然传统放射摄影和磁共振成像在评估膝关节骨关节炎患者方面发挥着既定作用，但超声被视为一种补充性的额外工具。此外，在膝关节骨关节炎评估中，超声的实际效用仍存在争议。尽管如此，超声为当前临床实践和未来展望提供了几个优势和有趣的方面。在膝关节骨关节炎病例中，超声可能是检测诸如软骨退化、骨赘和滑膜炎等异常情况的有用工具。此外，与膝关节骨关节炎相关的局部诊断和微创治疗操作可以通过实时超声成像安全地进行引导。我们不断观察到放射科医生和其他医生对超声成像的了解和认识在不断提高。超声研究对于追踪各种治疗的反应可能极其有用。为了这个特定目的，远程超声检查可能是一种有助于进行精确和重复随访控制的简便工具。此外，来自超声背向散射信号的原始射频数据比B模式成像包含更多信息。这为对软骨、骨骼和其他关节结构进行定量深入分析铺平了道路。总体而言，超声技术及其快速发展有潜力在研究和临床层面产生影响。这篇叙述性综述文章描述了此类技术的潜力及其可能的未来影响。
