Use of small animal PET-CT imaging for assessment of tendon-to-bone healing: A pilot study.

Background: The availability of non-invasive means to evaluate and monitor tendon-bone healing processes is limited. Micro Positron-Emission-Tomography (µPET) using F-Fluoride is a minimally invasive imaging modality, with which osteoblast activity and bone turnover can be assessed. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of serial µPET/CT scans to evaluate bone turnover along the graft-tunnel interface in a rat ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction model.