Joint and Cartilage Diagnosis, Assessment and Modeling

Abstract

Methods are disclosed for assessing the condition of a cartilage in a joint and assessing cartilage loss, particularly in a human knee. The methods include converting an image such as an MRI to a three dimensional map of the cartilage. The cartilage map can be correlated to a movement pattern of the joint to assess the effect of movement on cartilage wear. Changes in the thickness of cartilage over time can be determined so that therapies can be provided. The amount of cartilage tissue that has been lost, for example as a result of arthritis, can be estimated.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of creating a cast, a physical model, or a mold for treatment of a portion of an articular surface of a diseased or damaged knee joint of a patient, the method comprising:
 electronically evaluating a cartilage degeneration pattern derived from image data of the diseased or damaged knee joint of the patient to obtain information about at least one of articular geometry and shape of at least a portion of the articular surface of the diseased or damaged knee joint of the patient; and   designing at least one of a cast, physical model and a mold for treatment of all or a portion of the diseased or damaged knee joint wherein said cast, physical model or mold includes an articular surface having a geometry or shape that is based on said information.   
     
     
         2 . A method of creating a cast, a physical model, or a mold for use in repairing all or a portion of a diseased or damaged joint of a patient, the method comprising:
 electronically evaluating a cartilage degeneration pattern derived from image data of the diseased or damaged joint of the patient to obtain information about articular geometry of at least a portion of an articular surface of the diseased or damaged joint of the patient;   determining an axis related to said diseased or damaged joint; and   designing at least one of a cast, physical model and a mold wherein said cast, physical model or mold includes an articular surface having a geometry that matches said information about the articular geometry and an orientation that is based on said mechanical axis.