From joint anatomy to clinical outcomes in osteoarthritis and cartilage repair: summary of the fifth annual osteoarthritis imaging workshop

SummaryObjectiveThis white paper constitutes an overview of presentations and discussions from the fifth Annual Workshop on Imaging in Osteoarthritis (OA) held in Salzburg June eighth to eleventh 2011.DesignThis workshop brought together the communities of basic OA researchers, orthopedists and rheumatologists, imaging scientists, instrument manufacturers, and pharmaceutical representatives to focus on three overlapping themes of joint anatomy, cartilage repair and clinical validation of imaging biomarkers.ResultsThe workshop was held on the campus of the Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg, Austria from June 8–11, 2011; 133 attendees participated, representing 17 countries. The meeting was successful in facilitating discussion, raising awareness and consolidating knowledge about application of imaging in OA research studies and cartilage repair.ConclusionsThe OA research communities need to work alongside the regulatory, pharmaceutical, and MRI industries to support the new ideas and engage in the positive reinforcement of resources to further the new studies. A number of new initiatives were discussed to further break down obstacles to clinical trial utility of imaging biomarkers.