Eliminating unnecessary surgery
A new more accurate way of diagnosing the severity of osteoarthritis with less invasive surgery is being developed by Queensland University of Technology biomedical engineer Hayley Moody.
Moody, from QUT’s Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, said the new system would use near infrared spectroscopy - electromagnetic waves - to allow surgeons to improve early diagnosis of osteoarthritis and would lead to improved patient outcomes.
“Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of cartilage in the joints and is more commonly found in the ageing population, and increasingly in athletes, and those whose jobs involve heavy lifting or other joint-intensive activities,” Moody said.
“More than three million Australians suffer from osteoarthritis and with the ageing population growing, the number of osteoarthritis sufferers is projected to increase to 4.2 million in Australia by 2021.”
Moody said the predominantly visual surgical tools currently available to diagnose osteoarthritis may not provide the level of information required to compliment new techniques in repairing damaged and diseased cartilage.
“There is a need to provide a more precise and accurate evaluation of early stage cartilage damage,” she said.
“The novel method that will result from my research will provide a ‘virtual biopsy’ of the diseased cartilage.
“This will essentially provide the surgeon with more detailed information about the level of disease in and around the affected cartilage.”
Moody said with more accurate diagnosis and treatment, patients would require less recovery time, incur lower associated costs, return to work and sports sooner, and importantly, reduce pain and suffering.
“This research will also provide important insight into the characteristics of the stages of osteoarthritis, bringing researchers closer to understanding the mechanisms behind this disease,” she said.
“It is hoped that this new information will potentially contribute to a decrease in late stage osteoarthritis through improved diagnosis and management of early stage osteoarthritis and in turn decrease the socio-economic burden of the disease.”
Moody’s research is funded by a Queensland Government Smart Futures Scholarship, Nigel G. Shrive (Killam Memorial CIHR chair) grant, Cy Frank (McCaig Professor CIHR) grant, the Alberta Heritage Foundation of Medical Research, McCaig Fund and The Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
