Vibroarthrography, A Novel Technique in Diagnosis of Knee Osteoarthritis

A. Rahimi PhD PT , M.M. Roostayee MSc PT , D. Shahimoridi MSc PT

 Received: 02/02/06 Sent for Revision: 24/06/06 Received Revised Manuscript: 27/11/06 Accepted: 26/12/06

Background and Objective: Use of joint sound signals for diagnosis of knee joint disorders has been greatly welcomed since it is a non-invasive and inexpensive technique. In vibroarthrography (VAG), joint sound signals can be detected using a contact sensor over the skin surface of the joint during movements. This study aimed to investigate the capability of this method in diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Materials and Methods: In this study which was the evaluatin of a diagonstic test, forty-four knees from 22 healthy and OA-diagnosed subjects were included in this study. A miniature potentiometer was placed on the patellar, medial and lateral sides of the knees and their VAG signals were recorded in a non-weight bearing (NWB) flexion/extension task. The average root mean square (RMS) of the signals were calculated and compared between the healthy and OA knees. Results: The findings of this study revealed more physiologic signals in healthy knees. OA-diagnosed knees showed less physiologic signals with some spikes among them. There was no significant difference between these two groups in terms of the total average RMS of the VAG signals. However, a noticeable difference was noted between the right and left OA knees. The left OA knees did not show significantly different RMS in the medial and lateral sites, however this finding was significantly different on the patellar site compared to the left healthy knees (p=0.03). Conclusion: Based on these findings, the VAG technique might be considered as a non-invasive method in diagnosis of OA changes of the knees. It was also concluded that use of potentiometer on the patella is possibly helpful in diagnosis of only left knee osteoarthritis. Key words: Knee Osteoarthritis, Vibroarthrography, Non-invasive