Real-time, High-resolution Diagnosis for Osteoarthritis in the Rat Using Common-Path Fourier-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

The need for an inexpensive, real-time, high-resolution diagnosis for osteoarthritis (OA) is profound. After inducing OA in rats, we monitored the degradation of the articular cartilage by experimentally using in-house developed common-path Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (CP-FDOCT). To observe the progression of OA, we injected monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) into the left knee joint. The histological images showed patterns that are similar to OCT images. These results illustrated the potential of CP-FDOCT for use in the noninvasive diagnosis of this particular grade of OA.