Novel Imaging Approaches to Study Joint Kinematics

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Ata Kiapour

Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital

Ata Kiapour is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator at Boston Children’s Hospital Orthopaedic Research Laboratories. Kiapour laboratory brings together researchers from the engineering and clinical communities to develop new technologies focused on addressing pressing musculoskeletal conditions. Our research focuses on understanding the links between form and function at tissue and joint levels. In particular he is interested in developing non-invasive quantitative imaging techniques to assess tissue health and to predict the risk of injury as well as the treatment outcomes. Ata received his BS (2004) and MS (2008) in Materials Science from Iran University of Science and Technology. He has several years of experience in industry prior to coming to U.S. for his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toledo (2013). He has also obtained a Master’s Degree in Clinical and Translational Investigation from Harvard Medical School (2016). Ata’s work has been recognized by 10+ awards and presented as 50+ peer-reviewed publications and 100+ conference proceedings.

Collection Overview

Joint kinematics has been widely used in clinics and clinical research as a functional outcome to assess joint health, risk and mechanism of injury, and efficacy of treatment. Traditional approaches to quantify joint kinematics include the use of goniometers, optical sensors and wearables. These tools enable joint motion assessment in variety of settings including in clinic, in lab and in field. However, they have some limitations in detailed assessment of joint translation as well as investigation of interactions between soft tissues (i.e. cartilage and ligaments) inside the joints. Over the past two decades, several imaging techniques have been used to address these limitations by looking at the individual tissue structure inside the joints during specific tasks in a quasi-static and dynamic manner. These techniques have resulted in novel insight into joint biomechanics as it relates to injury mechanism and treatment outcomes. However, they involve complex techniques which are not sufficiently described in the literature. The present JoVE Methods Collection brings together the most-recent methodologies used for detailed assessment of joint kinematics.