PURPOSE

To evaluate the usefulness of radiomics features extracted from ultrasonographic images in diagnosing and predicting the severity of knee osteoarthritis (OA).

METHODS

In this single-center, prospective, observational study, radiomics features were extracted from standing radiographs and ultrasonographic images of knees of patients aged 40-85 years with primary medial OA and without OA. Analysis was conducted using LIFEx software (version 7.2.n), ANOVA, and LASSO regression. The diagnostic accuracy of three different models, including a statistical model incorporating background factors and machine learning models, was evaluated.

RESULTS

Among 491 limbs analyzed, 318 were OA and 173 were non-OA cases. The mean age was 72.7 (±8.7) and 62.6 (±11.3) years in the OA and non-OA groups, respectively. The OA group included 81 (25.5 %) men and 237 (74.5 %) women, whereas the non-OA group included 73 men (42.2 %) and 100 (57.8 %) women. A statistical model using the cutoff value of MORPHOLOGICAL_SurfaceToVolumeRatio (IBSI:2PR5) achieved a specificity of 0.98 and sensitivity of 0.47. Machine learning diagnostic models (Model 2) demonstrated areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.88 (discriminant analysis) and 0.87 (logistic regression), with sensitivities of 0.80 and 0.81 and specificities of 0.82 and 0.80, respectively. For severity prediction, the statistical model using MORPHOLOGICAL_SurfaceToVolumeRatio (IBSI:2PR5) showed sensitivity and specificity values of 0.78 and 0.86, respectively, whereas machine learning models achieved an AUC of 0.92, sensitivity of 0.81, and specificity of 0.85 for severity prediction.

CONCLUSION

The use of radiomics features in diagnosing knee OA shows potential as a supportive tool for enhancing clinicians' decision-making.