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. 2008 Oct;21 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):104-12.
doi: 10.1007/s10278-007-9031-x. Epub 2007 Mar 24.

Normative reference values of joint space width estimated by computer-aided joint space analysis (CAJSA): the distal interphalangeal joint

Alexander Pfeil  1 , Joachim Böttcher, Max L Schäfer, Bettina E Seidl, Mirco Schmidt, Alexander Petrovitch, Jens-Peter Heyne, Gabriele Lehmann, Peter Oelzner, Gert Hein, Gunter Wolf, Werner A Kaiser
Affiliations

Normative reference values of joint space width estimated by computer-aided joint space analysis (CAJSA): the distal interphalangeal joint

Alexander Pfeil et al. J Digit Imaging. 2008 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: The study introduces reference data for a computer-aided analysis. The semiautomated computer-aided diagnostic system provides the estimation of joint space width at the distal interphalangeal joints, considering gender-specific and age-related changes.

Patients and methods: 869 subjects (351 female/518 male) with hand x-rays were included and underwent measurements of joint space distances at the distal interphalangeal articulation (JSD-DIP) of the second to the fifth finger using computer-aided joint space analysis (CAJSA).

Results: Data showed a notable age-related decrease of CAJSA parameters, and an accentuated age-related joint space narrowing in women. Males showed a significantly wider JSD-DIP (+ 16.7%) compared to the female cohort for all age groups. Both men and women revealed an accentuated decrease of JSD-DIP (total) in the age group from 10 to 15 years (for men -10.5% and for women -17.6%). After the age of 21 years a continuous decline of the JSD-DIP (total) is observed.

Conclusion: Our data present gender-specific and age-related normative reference data for computer-aided joint space analysis, which provide a valid and reliable differentiation between disease-related joint space narrowing and age-related joint space narrowing, particularly in patients with osteoarthritis of the fingers.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Semiautomatic measurement of the distal interphalangeal joint space (II–V) by the computer-aided joint space analysis (CAJSA, Version 1.3.6; Sectra; Sweden). The region of interest (ROI) is semiautomatic positioning by the operator. In the figure, the ROIs are in projection of the distal interphalangeal joint II to V. The software causes a filtering of the edge of the ROI and the distance between the bones is defined as the average distance between the two involved edges.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Age-related normative values of Joint Space Distance of the Distal-Interphalangeal joint (JSD-DIP total) and standard deviations (SD) determined on women (n = 351).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Age-related normative values of Joint Space Distance of the Distal-Interphalangeal joint (JSD-DIP total) and standard deviations (SD) determined on men (n = 518).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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