Comparison of optical coherence tomography and histopathology in quantitative assessment of goat talus articular cartilage

Comparison of optical coherence tomography and histopathology in quantitative assessment of goat talus articular cartilage

Cernohorsky, P.
Kok, A.C.
De Bruin, D.M.
Brandt, M.J.
Faber, D.J.
Tuijthof, G.J.M.
Kerkhoffs, G.M.
Strackee, S.D.
Van Leeuwen, T.G.

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Biomechanical Engineering

2014-10-28

Background and purpose — Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a light-based imaging technique suitable for depiction of thin tissue layers such as articular cartilage. Quantification of results and direct comparison with a reference standard is needed to confirm the role of OCT in cartilage evaluation. Materials and methods — Goat talus articular cartilage repair was assessed quantitatively with OCT and compared with histopathology using semi-automated analysis software. Osteochondral defects were created centrally in goat tali with subsequent healing over 24 weeks. After sacrifice, the tali were analyzed using OCT and processed into histopathology slides. Cartilage thickness, repair tissue area, and surface roughness were measured. Also, light attenuation coefficient measurements were performed to assess differences in the properties of healthy tissue and repair tissue. Results — Intra-class correlation coefficients for resemblance between the 2 techniques were 0.95 (p < 0.001) for thickness, 0.73 (p = 0.002) for repair tissue area, and 0.63 (p = 0.015) for surface roughness. Light attenuation differed significantly between healthy cartilage (8.2 (SD 3.9) mm-1) and repair tissue (2.8 (SD 1.5) mm-1) (p < 0.001). Interpretation — Compared to histopathology as the standard reference method, OCT is a reproducible technique in quantitative analysis of goat talus articular cartilage, especially when assessing cartilage thickness and to a lesser extent when measuring repair tissue area and surface roughness. Moreover, differences in local light attenuation suggest measurable variation in tissue structure, enhancing the clinical applicability of quantitative measurements from cartilage OCT images.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:242cca2b-577b-4ee9-8300-7cf4bd64700b

Taylor & Francis

1745-3674

https://doi.org/10.3109/17453674.2014.979312

Acta Orthopaedica, 86 (2), 2015

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2014 Nordic Orthopaedic Federation
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the source is credited.