Artificial intelligence detects osteoarthritis years before it develops

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering have created a machine-learning algorithm that can detect subtle signs of osteoarthritis--too abstract to register in the eye of a trained radiologist--on an MRI scan taken years before symptoms even begin. These results will publish this week in PNAS. With this predictive approach, patients could one day be treated with preventative drugs rather than undergoing joint replacement surgery. "The gold standard for diagnosing arthritis is X-ray. As the cartilage deteriorates, the space between the bones decreases," said study co-author Kenneth Urish, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at Pitt and associate medical director of the bone and joint center at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.