Uploaded November 2016 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Clinical imaging data contains a wealth of hidden information. A new image analysis technique called ‘joint space mapping’ can sample clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in 3D across the human hip joint. The results, here averaged from 20 hip joints, not only show how the width of the joint space varies in 3D, but also show an overall average joint shape. This technique can be used to tell us about how the hip joint changes with ageing or disease, such as osteoarthritis, revealing quantitative information that would otherwise be hidden from the observer. This average joint space is viewed from the front, side, and back (from left to right), with each line representing a sampling direction across the joint coloured according to it’s length (red-orange-yellow-green-blue = thinnest to thickest).
Clinical imaging data contains a wealth of hidden information. A new image analysis technique called ‘joint space mapping’ can sample clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in 3D across the human hip joint. The results, here averaged from 20 hip joints, not only show how the width of the joint space varies in 3D, but also show an overall average joint shape. This technique can be used to tell us about how the hip joint changes with ageing or disease, such as osteoarthritis, revealing quantitative information that would otherwise be hidden from the observer. This average joint space is viewed from the front, side, and back (from left to right), with each line representing a sampling direction across the joint coloured according to it’s length (red-orange-yellow-green-blue = thinnest to thickest).
