Table 1.

Summary of current imaging modalities' capacities for OA diagnosis

Imaging modality	Capacities
X-ray	Evaluation of osteophyte formation, joint space narrowing (JNS), and subchondral sclerosis or subchondral cysts. 4-6
PET	Provide metabolism information in articular and periarticular tissues. 5
MRI	Offer superb soft tissue contrast, which is used in assessment of cartilage lesions. 4-6
OCT	Generate cross-sectional images of articular cartilage and provide quantitative information about the disease state of articular cartilage; sensitive to collagen structural changes. 4-6
US	Identification of tibiofemoral osteophytes, medial meniscal extrusion, and medial femoral cartilage morphological degeneration 4-6