[Imaging: new techniques used in osteoarthritis].

Nowadays, one of the critical challenges for imaging techniques is the development of more sensitive methods to assess osteoarthritis. This review is focused on the main methods used to evaluate anatomical damage in osteoarthritis patients. Conventional radiography is the more accessible and well known method, but can not evaluate non-calcified tissues. Magnetic resonance imaging allows visualization of articular and extraarticular soft tissues, including the morphologic and biochemical characteristics of cartilage, but it is an expensive and less accessible method. Increasing interest has been shown in ultrasonography as a suitable, non expensive and accurate method which can evaluate articular (including cartilage) and extraarticular structures, with the disadvantage of a limited acoustic window and impossibility to evaluate joint space width.