Bioengineering
Three-Dimensional MRI-Based Statistical Shape Analysis of Knee Bone Morphology in Individuals with Generalized Joint Hypermobility
By Luo Y, Guo L, Zhu Z and 4 others.
Abstract
Background
Generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) is associated with ligamentous and capsular laxity and an increased risk of knee injury. Whether GJH is associated with three-dimensional knee bone morphology remains unclear. This study compared femoral, tibial, and patellar morphology between young adults with GJH and healthy controls using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based statistical shape modeling (SSM).
Methods
This cross-sectional study included 80 participants aged 18-25 years, comprising 40 individuals with GJH (Beighton score ≥ 6) and 40 healthy controls (Beighton score ≤ 2). One right knee per participant was analyzed. High-resolution 3.0-T MRI was used to segment and model the femur, tibia, and patella separately in ShapeWorks. The primary SSMs were scale-normalized using Procrustes alignment to remove global isotropic scale differences. Principal components (PCs) accounting for at least 95% of cumulative shape variance were retained. Overall group differences were assessed using permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), with multivariate dispersion assessed using PERMDISP. Individual PCs were compared with Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) correction.