The Arthritis Foundation has awarded University of Iowa researchers a three-year, $928,249 post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) platform grant as part of their Osteoarthritis Clinical Trial Network (OA-CTN).  UI faculty Don Anderson, PhD, and Larry Marsh, MD, are co-principal investigators on this grant, which leverages prior funding from the Orthopedic Trauma Association. Anderson, a professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation, holds the Richard and Jan Johnston Chair in Orthopedic Biomechanics, while Marsh holds the Carroll B. Larson Chair and is a professor and department executive officer of the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation.

The overall goal of the OA-CTN is to accelerate approval of better treatment options for patients while reducing the burden of trial duration, patient participation barriers, and costs for studies in osteoarthritis. The specific goal of the PTOA platform is to facilitate proposals for interventional or epidemiological research. 

“The objective of this research is to expand upon our previous work to establish accurate, reliable weight bearing CT (WBCT)-based 3D imaging markers for early diagnosis of PTOA after an intra-articular fracture,” said Marsh. “WBCT is an emerging technology that provides CT reconstructions of the lower extremity, obtained while a subject is standing, at a radiation dose equivalent to a few standard radiographs.”

“Our multi-institutional group (at the Universities of Iowa, Utah, Washington, and Kansas) is poised to perform the requisite studies to validate these WBCT markers of PTOA. Coupling the markers with methods for assessing mechanical risk factors that use images from the WBCT will enable better prediction, improved understanding, earlier diagnosis, and more meaningful longitudinal and long-term assessment of PTOA,” said Anderson. “This will lead to better-informed treatment decisions and provide a robust framework for the clinical testing of new biologic treatments to prevent or forestall PTOA.”

Grant Team members include:
Co-Principal Investigators:  Don Anderson, PhD, and Larry Marsh, MD
Other key investigators at University of Iowa:  Mike Willey, MD, Cesar de Cesar Netto, MD, PhD, Natalie Glass, PhD, and Catherine Fruehling.
Additional collaborators at other sites are:
University of Utah: Justin Haller, MD, and Thomas Higgins, MD
University of Washington: Conor Kleweno, MD, and Julie Agel
University of Kansas Medical Center: Neil Segal, MD, MS, and Bryan Vopat, MD