Near infrared spectroscopic evaluation of water in hyaline cartilage

Articular cartilage is avascular and has limited capacity for repair. In diseased conditions such as osteoarthritis, there is an increase in water content from the average normal of 60-85% to greater than 90%. As cartilage has very little capability for self-repair, methods of early detection of degeneration are required, and assessment of water could prove to be a useful diagnostic method. Non-destructive near infrared spectroscopy is extremely sensitive to the chemical composition and molecular structure of tissues and could prove to be a useful method for early diagnosis of cartilage degeneration. The hypothesis that NIR spectra can be used to assess water content in cartilage was investigated in the current study.