MIRACLE consortium member professor Simo Saarakkala presented a one-hour webinar for the Finnish joint association on the 17th of November about osteoarthritis with the topic “What is osteoarthritis – wear and tear or a spectrum of diseases?” (Translated from Finnish).
Almost 1200 viewers were watching the webinar live. It can be also viewed afterwards (link), and it acquired almost 4000 views within the first 24 hours.
The presentation focuses on the most recent osteoarthritis research and treatment recommendations to the general population. On top of introducing general knowledge about osteoarthritis, professor Saarakkala discusses the disease from the perspective of multiple phenotypes, instead of the older historical view of simply being wear and tear over the years.
One of the focus areas in the presentation is early diagnostics of osteoarthritis. Better diagnostic tools for earlier detection of joint tissue changes would allow more varied research for osteoarthritis progression as well as enabling earlier start for interventions. One such tool is the MIRACLE device, which allows measurement of molecular composition of the tissue within the joints, possibly enabling the detection of osteoarthritic changes earlier than with the conventional method of mechanical probing and visual inspection during arthroscopy.
