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Session: Poster session I
Session starts: Thursday 24 January, 15:00

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Aimee Kok (AMC)
Maaike Terra (AMC)
Juri Aaftink (AMC)
Geert Streekstra (AMC)
Niek van Dijk (AMC)
Gino Kerkhoffs (AMC)

Abstract:
A chondral or an osteochondral defect (OCD) is described as the separation of a fragment of cartilage without or with damage of the underlying subchondral bone, respectively 1. The long term prognosis of small cartilage lesions evolving into an eroding subchondral bone defect is not known. Longitudinal monitoring of patients at short intervals could assist in overall understanding. As ultrasound imaging offers the preconditions for short interval monitoring (noninvasive, fast and affordable) 2,3, the aim is to determine the feasibility of ultrasound in diagnosing the presence or absence of particularly small chondral and osteochondral defects. In the anterior talar surface of ten human cadaveric ankles, a maximum of four conditions were arthroscopically created, consisting of a randomized combination of: no defect, pure chondral defect (size Ø 3 mm or Ø 1.5 mm), and osteochondral defect (size Ø 3 mm or Ø 1.5 mm). All ankles were examined with ultrasound by two blinded observers who indicated the presence, location, classify and size of the defects. Ultrasound observations were validated using CT scans and photographs of the dissected tali. The overall sensitivity was 96% for Observer 1 and 92% for Observer 2 with a specificity of 100% for both. Overall correct grading of the defects was 92% for Observer 1 and 79% for Observer 2. Both observers only located one defect incorrectly resulting in 96% correct localization. 68% of all measured defect sizes by Observer 1were within the clinically relevant limits of agreement (-0.2 ± 1.0 mm) and 79% of those measured by Observer 2 4. Ultrasound has the potential to facilitate accurate identification and localization of small (osteo)chondral defects on the anterior surface area of the talus.