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CC BY 4.0 · Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 2023; 27(06): 618-631
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1775741
Review Article

Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of the Painful Knee

Authors

  • Jacob M. Mostert

    1   Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

  • Niels B.J. Dur

    1   Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    2   Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

  • Xiufeng Li

    3   Department of Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Jutta M. Ellermann

    3   Department of Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Robert Hemke

    4   Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  • Laurel Hales

    5   Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California

  • Valentina Mazzoli

    5   Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California

  • Feliks Kogan

    5   Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California

  • James F. Griffith

    6   Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  • Edwin H.G. Oei

    1   Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

  • Rianne A. van der Heijden

    1   Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    7   Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
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Abstract

Chronic knee pain is a common condition. Causes of knee pain include trauma, inflammation, and degeneration, but in many patients the pathophysiology remains unknown. Recent developments in advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques and molecular imaging facilitate more in-depth research focused on the pathophysiology of chronic musculoskeletal pain and more specifically inflammation. The forthcoming new insights can help develop better targeted treatment, and some imaging techniques may even serve as imaging biomarkers for predicting and assessing treatment response in the future. This review highlights the latest developments in perfusion MRI, diffusion MRI, and molecular imaging with positron emission tomography/MRI and their application in the painful knee. The primary focus is synovial inflammation, also known as synovitis. Bone perfusion and bone metabolism are also addressed.

Keywords

knee - pain - imaging - magnetic resonance imaging - positron emission tomography


Publication History

Article published online:
07 November 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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