Grant: Project Grant

Rationale: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most common and debilitating injuries to the knee and many injured patients go on to develop post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Abnormal knee motions and joint biology changes after ACL injury likely disrupt the structural integrity of cartilage reducing its load bearing capacity. Such weakened cartilage may be at an increased risk of mechanical wear during activities of daily living and experience significant and progressive cartilage loss. Critically, there are no accurate clinical diagnostics sensitive to early PTOA changes. This gap prohibits optimal prevention of longitudinal cartilage degradation. Goal: We propose to address the unmet need for a novel "mechanical marker" that will use dynamic imaging techniques to assess the mechanics of the knee with respect to the structural and compositional changes of the knee joint cartilages at the very early stages after injury, and potentially identify those at high risk of OA following knee injury. Approach: In this project we will compare ACL injured participants with age, sex and activity matched healthy individuals. Using state-of-the-art non-invasive, in-vivo biomechanical and imaging approaches, for the first time, groups will be compared using information of cartilage load-bearing capacity (i.e. mechanical marker), regional cartilage thickness changes, knee joint soft tissue structure and composition, dynamic knee joint movements, joint morphology change and knee function. Follow up assessment of ACL injured individuals and healthy controls will provide the means to identify how these measures interact and clarify the mechanisms of early PTOA progression. Outcomes: This unique project will address the burden of OA by informing research on clinical OA diagnostics and clinical practice, enabling monitoring of the effects of interventions on patient outcomes, and advancing a novel diagnostic tool for early PTOA assessment.