Keywords:
Musculoskeletal joint, CT, Experimental, Diagnostic procedure, Trauma
Authors:
J. C. Hellund, �. T. Øverbø, K. Bjørklund, S. Tyrdal, A. C. Martinsen; Oslo/NO
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-1562
Aims and objectives
Post traumatic osteoarthritis (OA) is a known complication after trauma to the elbow.
Bony deposits at joint edges or loose bodies might hamper range of movement (ROM) due to bony collision.
Thus,
the patient can experience reduced quality of life.
Computer Tomography (CT) is an established imaging technique to identify bony structures in OA,
that could be surgically removed by either arthroscopic or open arthrolysis.
Images reconstructed in 2D (axial/sagittal/coronal) and 3D volume are used pre- and post-surgically to assess the joint. These images represent a static presentation of the joint,
leaving the clinician to do a qualified guess on which osteophytes to remove.
Dynamic volume scanning (4D) CT has been available on the marked a few years,
and one case-report exists on elbow (1).
Still,
only a few articles are published on the topic,
mainly on shoulder pathology (2,3).
A Pub-med search using CT,
4D and elbow as phrases showed no articles regarding 4D examination of elbow.
The visualisation of a moving joint holds the possibility to improve pre-surgical planning (4,5).
The purpose of this presentation is to present such a novel tool in CT diagnostic; and the aim is to show how a 4D CT of elbow could be performed,
and how that 4D CT displayed reduced ROM.
A patient case is used to present the examination technique and relevant findings.