Harnessing the power of patient engagement in evaluating a novel brace for knee osteoarthritis: a co-produced commentary.

Introduction: Patient oriented research (POR) invites patients to partner with researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders, incorporating diverse perspectives to generate scientific evidence meaningful to all parties involved. We adopted a POR approach for this study evaluating the feasibility of conducting a randomized control trial of a novel tri-compartment offloader brace for knee osteoarthritis. We involved patients as partners to enhance study design, implementation and interpretation of key outcomes.

A Rigorous 2D-3D Registration Method for a High-Speed Bi-Planar Videoradiography Imaging System.

High-speed biplanar videoradiography can derive the dynamic bony translations and rotations required for joint cartilage contact mechanics to provide insights into the mechanical processes and mechanisms of joint degeneration or pathology. A key challenge is the accurate registration of 3D bone models (from MRI or CT scans) with 2D X-ray image pairs. Marker-based or model-based 2D-3D registration can be performed.

Self-supervised-RCNN for medical image segmentation with limited data annotation.

Many successful methods developed for medical image analysis based on machine learning use supervised learning approaches, which often require large datasets annotated by experts to achieve high accuracy. However, medical data annotation is time-consuming and expensive, especially for segmentation tasks. To overcome the problem of learning with limited labeled medical image data, an alternative deep learning training strategy based on self-supervised pretraining on unlabeled imaging data is proposed in this work.

Comparison of Dynamic Knee Contact Mechanics with T Imaging in Different Ages of Healthy Participants.

Aging is a known risk factor for Osteoarthritis (OA), however, relations between cartilage composition and aging remain largely unknown in understanding human OA. T imaging provides an approach to assess cartilage composition. Whether these T relaxation times in the joint contact region change with time during gait remain unexplored.

Patellofemoral joint geometry and osteoarthritis features 3-10 years after knee injury compared with uninjured knees.

In this cross-sectional study, we compared patellofemoral geometry in individuals with a youth-sport-related intra-articular knee injury to uninjured individuals, and the association between patellofemoral geometry and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-defined osteoarthritis (OA) features. In the Youth Prevention of Early OA (PrE-OA) cohort, we assessed 10 patellofemoral geometry measures in individuals 3-10 years following injury compared with uninjured individuals of similar age, sex, and sport, using mixed effects linear regression. We also dichotomized geometry to identify extreme (>1.

Tricompartment offloader knee brace reduces sagittal plane knee moments, quadriceps muscle activity, and pain during chair rise and lower in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

The Levitation tricompartment offloader (TCO) knee brace provides an assistive knee extension moment with the goal of unloading all three compartments of the knee and reducing pain for individuals with multicompartment knee osteoarthritis (OA). This study aimed to determine the effect of the TCO brace on sagittal plane knee moments, quadriceps muscle activity, and pain in individuals with multicompartment knee OA. Lower limb kinematics, kinetics, and electromyography data were collected during a chair rise and lower to determine differences between bracing conditions.

Tricompartment offloader knee brace reduces contact forces in adults with multicompartment knee osteoarthritis.

The levitation tricompartment offloader (TCO) brace is designed to unload all three knee compartments by reducing compressive forces caused by muscle contraction. This study aimed to determine the effect of the TCO on knee contact forces and quadriceps muscle activity in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Lower limb kinematics, kinetics, and electromyography data were collected during a chair rise-and-lower task.

The influence of smoothing techniques on the accuracy of the reference finite helical axis when applied to 2D-3D registrations.

Highspeed Biplanar Videoradiography (HSBV) permits recording of 3D bone movements with sub-millimeter precision. 2D-3D registrations are performed to quantify bone movements, providing a series of affine transformation matrices (ATMs). These registrations may result in alignment errors that produce inaccurate kinematics.

Empirical joint contact mechanics: A comprehensive review.

Empirical joint contact mechanics measurement (EJCM; e.g. contact area or force, surface velocities) enables critical investigations of the relationship between changing joint mechanics and the impact on surface-to-surface interactions.

Kinematics of the head and associated vertebral artery length changes during high-velocity, low-amplitude cervical spine manipulation.

Background: Cervical spine manipulation (CSM) is a frequently used treatment for neck pain. Despite its demonstrated efficacy, concerns regarding the potential of stretch damage to vertebral arteries (VA) during CSM remain. The purpose of this study was to quantify the angular displacements of the head relative to the sternum and the associated VA length changes during the thrust phase of CSM.

Concurrent validity and reliability of a semi-automated approach to measuring the magnetic resonance imaging morphology of the knee joint in active youth.

Post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis is attributed to alterations in joint morphology, alignment, and biomechanics triggered by injury. While magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-based measures of joint morphology and alignment are relevant to understanding osteoarthritis risk, time consuming manual data extraction and measurement limit the number of outcomes that can be considered and deter widespread use. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a semi-automated software for measuring tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint architecture using MR images from youth with and without a previous sport-related knee injury.

Improved-Mask R-CNN: Towards an accurate generic MSK MRI instance segmentation platform (data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative).

Introduction: Objective assessment of osteoarthritis (OA) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans can address the limitations of the current OA assessment approaches. Detecting and extracting bone, cartilage, and joint fluid is a necessary component for the objective assessment of OA, which helps to quantify tissue characteristics such as volume and thickness. Many algorithms, based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), have been proposed over recent years for segmenting bone and soft tissues.

The effect of axillary crutch length on upper limb kinematics during swing-through gait.

Background: Axillary crutches are commonly used in rehabilitation. Inappropriately fit crutches may result in upper limb pain or injury.

Objective: To investigate the effects of axillary crutch length on upper limb kinematics to better understand potential injury mechanisms.

Validation of a magnetic resonance imaging based method to study passive knee laxity: An in-situ study.

Knee laxity can be described as an increased anterior tibial translation (ATT) or decreased stiffness of the tibiofemoral joint under an applied force. Küpper et al. (2013, 2016) and Westover et al.

Vertical Drop Jump Biomechanics of Patients With a 3- to 10-Year History of Youth Sport-Related Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Background: A better understanding of movement biomechanics after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) could inform injury prevention, knee injury rehabilitation, and osteoarthritis prevention strategies.

Purpose: To investigate differences in vertical drop jump (VDJ) biomechanics between patients with a 3- to 10-year history of youth sport-related ACLR and uninjured peers of a similar age, sex, and sport.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

MRI Knee Domain Translation for Unsupervised Segmentation By CycleGAN (data from Osteoarthritis initiative (OAI)).

Accurate quantification of bone and cartilage features is the key to efficient management of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Bone and cartilage tissues can be accurately segmented from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data using supervised Deep Learning (DL) methods. DL training is commonly conducted using large datasets with expert-labeled annotations.

Automatic Assessment Of Hip Effusion From MRI.

Joint effusion is a hallmark of osteoarthritis (OA) associated with stiffness, and may relate to pain, disability, and long-term outcomes. However, it is difficult to quantify accurately. We propose a new Deep Learning (DL) approach for automatic effusion assessment from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) using volumetric quantification measures (VQM).

fMRI-Informed EEG for brain mapping of imagined lower limb movement: Feasibility of a brain computer interface.

Background: EEG and fMRI have contributed greatly to our understanding of brain activity and its link to behaviors by helping to identify both when and where the activity occurs. This is particularly important in the development of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), where feed forward systems gather data from imagined brain activity and then send that information to an effector. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a computational approach that enables an accurate mapping of spatial brain activity (fMRI) in relation to the temporal receptors (EEG electrodes) associated with imagined lower limb movement.

Secondary consequences of juvenile idiopathic arthritis in children and adolescents with knee involvement: physical activity, adiposity, fitness, and functional performance.

Objective: Secondary consequences of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) may impact long-term health outcomes. This study examined differences in physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, adiposity, and functional performance in children and adolescents with JIA compared to their typically developing (TD) peers.

Methods: Participants with JIA (n = 32; 10-20 years old) and their TD peers (n = 35) volunteered for assessments of: daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA, body-worn accelerometer); peak oxygen consumption (VO, incremental bike test); fat mass index (FMI, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry); and triple-single-leg-hop (TSLH) distance.

Volumetric quantitative measurement of hip effusions by manual versus automated artificial intelligence techniques: An OMERACT preliminary validation study.

Objective: Preliminary assessment, via OMERACT filter, of manual and automated MRI hip effusion Volumetric Quantitative Measurement (VQM).

Methods: For 358 hips (93 osteoarthritis subjects, bilateral, 2 time points), 2 radiologists performed manual VQM using custom Matlab software. A Mask R-CNN artificial-intelligence (AI) tool was trained to automatically compute joint fluid volumes.

EEG differentiates left and right imagined Lower Limb movement.

Background: Identifying which EEG signals distinguish left from right leg movements in imagined lower limb movement is crucial to building an effective and efficient brain-computer interface (BCI). Past findings on this issue have been mixed, partly due to the difficulty in collecting and isolating the relevant information. The purpose of this study was to contribute to this new and important literature.

Differentiating the Brain's involvement in Executed and Imagined Stepping using fMRI.

The purpose of this study was to extend the extant literature regarding brain areas that are activated during executed and imagined lower limb movement. Past research suggests that stepping, as a cyclical movement, should activate the motor control areas of the brain that integrates smooth movements with spinal cord nerves. The neuronal activity needed to imagine that same activity is likely to recruit additional sensory-motor areas that provide initiation and inhibition signals, making this task take on a neuronal activity pattern that is more similar to discrete movements.

Consequences of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis on Single Leg Squat Performance in Youth.

Objective: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) affects body structure and function outcomes that may increase the risk of acute joint injury. The purpose of this study was to examine single leg squat (SLS) biomechanics for youth with JIA and their healthy peers. The study design was a matched pair cohort study.

Vertical Drop Jump Performance in Youth With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Objective: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is associated with altered body structure and function outcomes that may expose youth with JIA to a greater risk of secondary joint injury. This study aimed to examine differences in vertical drop jump (VDJ) biomechanics for youth with JIA and healthy youth (control group).

Methods: The present study was a matched pair cohort study.

Robust Self-Supervised Learning of Deterministic Errors in Single-Plane (Monoplanar) and Dual-Plane (Biplanar) X-Ray Fluoroscopy.

Fluoroscopic imaging that captures X-ray images at video framerates is advantageous for guiding catheter insertions by vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists. Visualizing the dynamical movements non-invasively allows complex surgical procedures to be performed with less trauma to the patient. To improve surgical precision, endovascular procedures can benefit from more accurate fluoroscopy data via calibration.