Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful chronic inflammatory joint disease, which has a great impact on all aspects of life due to the joint-related symptoms as well as general malaise and fatigue. In two thirds of cases, RA begins with symmetric arthralgia and arthritis in the small joints of the hands and feet, which can lead to severe skeletal changes and destruction of the affected joints.
Recently, contrast enhancement MRI became a non-invasive imaging modality of choice for whole joint assessment of the inflamed synovium in patients with RA. MRI is considered to be the most sensitive imaging modality for musculoskeletal diseases assessment. It provides greater field of view, higher tissue contrast, and permits visualising both bony aspect and soft tissue in 3 orthogonal planes.
In DCE-MRI, the gadolinium compound based contrast agent, is preferentially taken up at sites of inflammation such as synovitis and oedema, allowing further delineation between healthy and perfused tissues. DCE-MRI provides information about tissue vascularity, perfusion and capillary permeability and therefore permits assessment of the degree of inflammation and post treatment progress evaluation. We offer a solution for dynamic MRI data assessment and diagnostic decision support. This solution is dedicated to assessment of the data acquired from patient suffering from RA.
- Data acquired from any joint can be processed
- Software allows fast and reliable differentiation between healthy controls and disease affected patients
- Fast comparison of the data acquired in the follow-up examinations
- Visualisation of inflammation and synovium volume
- Bespoke reporting system and novel scoring methods