Project 1

Assessing links between mechanics and cartilage changes at the hip using MRI: method development and application to studying common hip deformities.

Project Goals - What are we doing?

To develop and validate MRI protocols for assessing early cartilage degeneration at the hip and to apply these protocols to test the hypothesis that cartilage degeneration is associated with the symptoms of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome.

Research Outcomes - What will be achieved?

The development of new imaging protocols which show both early biochemical changes and changes in the shape and quantity of cartilage that are early signs of hip osteoarthritis. These new techniques will be important for assessing prevention and treatment strategies for hip osteoarthritis.

Background - Why is this research important?

Osteoarthritis is a disabling condition that affects over three million Canadians. A key barrier to understanding the links between mechanics and hip osteoarthritis is in the limitations of current medical imaging techniques, which are not adequate to detect early degeneration of cartilage. Clinicians believe that a clinical condition known as femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, in which the femur impinges against the pelvis due to anatomical deformities of these bones, underlies the development of many cases of hip osteoarthritis. This hypothesis has gained prominence because of its many implications on prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis, but it has not been proven. It is not clear whether patients who have the clinical symptoms of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome and no obvious osteoarthritis (ie are at an early stage) have any cartilage degeneration. Understanding whether these patients have degeneration is vital to deciding whether to operate on them and dictates the success of surgery, since operating prior to advanced degeneration is essential for long-term success.

Back to Early Detection of Osteoarthritis: Selected Projects

Project Team

Principal Investigator:

David Wilson, DPhil
Assistant Professor
Department of
Orthopaedics, UBC
Centre for Hip Health

Co-Investigators:

Don Garbuz, MD, FRCSC
Alex MacKay, PhD

Research Expertise:

Magnetic Resonance
Imaging, Cartilage,
Osteoarthritis,

Contact Information:

577-828 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L8
dawilson@interchange.ubc.ca
Tel: 604-875-4428

Funding Support:

Canadian Institutes
for Health Research (CIHR)