Study of the transient and depth-dependent swelling behavior of articular cartilage by ultrasound

Abstract

关节软骨是覆盖关节表面的一层承载生 物重量的组织,关节软骨在正常状态下,软骨蛋白多糖 的弹性和胶原纤维的张力保持平衡。这种平衡的微小变化会引起关节软骨的退化。量化关节软骨,特 别是在表层区域的膨胀影响,可以表征骨关节炎的退化变化。本文的主要目的是使用一种新的实时 超声膨胀测量系统来研究在改变浸泡关节软骨的盐水浓度,以及改用胰岛素溶液时的关节软骨的深 度依赖瞬态膨胀行为。 Articular cartilage (AC) is a biological weight-bearing tissue covering the bone ends of articulating joints. In normal condition the proteoglycan elasticity keeps balance with the collagen tension in articular cartilage. Subtle changes of this balance may lead to the degeneration of AC. These swelling effects in AC, particularly at the superficial zone, can be used to characterize degenerative changes associated with osteoarthritis. The main object of this paper is to use a new real time ultrasound swelling measurement system to investigate the transient and depth-dependent swelling behavior of bovine patellar AC induced by changing the concentration of bathing saline solution and using trypsin.