Characterization of Articular Cartilage Recovery and Its Correlation with Optical Response in the Near-Infrared Spectral Range. (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Afara, Isaac Oluwaseun; Singh, Sanjleena; Moody, Hayley; Zhang, Lihai; Oloyede, Adekunle
• Is Part Of: Cartilage. Volume 8:Number 3(2017)
• Page Start: 307
• Page End: 316
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: articular cartilage -- recovery -- near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy -- proteoglycans -- elastic rebound; Cartilage -- Periodicals; 616.7
• DOI: 10.1177/1947603516662502
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1947-6035

Abstract

Objectives: In this study, we examine the capacity of a new parameter, based on the recovery response of articular cartilage, to distinguish between healthy and damaged tissues. We also investigate whether or not this new parameter correlates with the near-infrared (NIR) optical response of articular cartilage. Design: Normal and artificially degenerated (proteoglycan-depleted) bovine cartilage samples were nondestructively probed using NIR spectroscopy. Subsequently they were subjected to a load and unloading protocol, and the recovery response was logged during unloading. The recovery parameter, elastic rebound ( E R ), is based on the strain energy released as the samples underwent instantaneous elastic recovery. Results: Our results reveal positive relationship between the rebound parameter and cartilage proteoglycan content (normal samples: 2.20 ± 0.10 N mm; proteoglycan-depleted samples: 0.50 ± 0.04 N mm for 1 hour of enzymatic treatment and 0.13 ± 0.02 N mm for 4 hours of enzymatic treatment). In addition, multivariate analysis using partial least squares regression was employed to investigate the relationship between E R and NIR spectral data. The results reveal significantly high correlation ( R 2 cal = 98.35% and R 2 val = 79.87%; P < 0.0001), with relatively low error (14%), between the recovery and optical response of cartilage in the combined NIR regions 5, 450 to 6, 100 cm −1 and 7, 500 to 12, 500 cm −1 . Conclusion: We conclude that E R can indicate the mechanical condition and state of health of articular cartilage. The correlation of E R with cartilage optical response in the NIR range could facilitate real-time evaluation of the tissue's integrity during arthroscopic surgery and could also provide an important tool for cartilage assessment in tissue engineering and regeneration research.