Assessment of knee cartilage in cadavers with dual-detector spiral CT arthrography and MR imaging

PURPOSE: To assess dual-detector spiral CT arthrography in the evaluation of the entire knee cartilage obtained from cadavers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two independent observers characterized articular cartilage in 12 cadaver knees in which MR imaging and dual-detector spiral CT arthrography were performed and compared their findings to those found during macroscopic assessment. The sensitivity and specificity of MR imaging and spiral CT arthrography for detecting grade 2A or higher and grade 2B or higher cartilage lesions, the Spearman correlation coefficient between arthrographic and macroscopic grading, and kappa statistics for assessing interobserver reproducibility were determined. RESULTS: At spiral CT arthrography, sensitivities and specificities ranged between 80% and 88% for the detection of grade 2A or higher cartilage lesions and ranged between 85% and 94% for the detection of grade 2B or higher cartilage lesions. At MR imaging, sensitivities and specificities ranged between 78% and 86% and between 76% and 91% for the detection of grade 2A or higher and grade 2B or higher cartilage lesions, respectively. Spearman correlation coefficients between spiral CT arthrography or MR imaging and macroscopic grading of articular surfaces were 0.797 and 0.702, respectively. CONCLUSION: Dual-detector spiral CT arthrography of the knee is a valuable method for the assessment of open cartilage lesions of the entire knee.