Assessing the condition of a joint and devising treatment

• US 7,239,908 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2000
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/1998
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Inventors: Steines, Daniel, Andriacchi, Thomas P., Lang, Philipp, Alexander, Eugene J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Caster; Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): JUNG, WILLIAM C
• Application Number:
  US09/662,224
• Time in Patent Office: 2,483 Days
• Field of Search: 600/407, 600/410, 600/411, 600/587, 600/416, 600/425, 600/437, 600/439, 436/173, 424/426, 703/2, 703/11, 703/7, 703/3, 128/898, 128/897, 128/922, 128/920, 707/102, 707/103, 707/104, 382/128, 382/173, 382/190, 382/258, 378 2162- 2165, 601 1- 5
• US Class Current: 600/427
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/103 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for testing the shape, pattern, colour, size or movement of the body or parts thereof, for diagnostic purposes A61B5/08 takes precedence; measuring aids for tailors A41H1/00; measuring instruments specially adapted for dentistry A61C19/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1038 Measuring plantar pressure during gait
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1121 Determining geometric values, e.g. centre of rotation or angular range of movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1122 of movement trajectories
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1127 using markers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4514 Cartilage
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4528 Joints A61B5/4533, A61B5/4538 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7257 using Fourier transforms
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/30 Anatomical models G09B23/281 - G09B23/288 take precedence

Abstract

Methods are disclosed for assessing the condition of a cartilage in a joint, particularly a human knee. The methods include converting an image such as an MRI to a three dimensional map of the cartilage. The cartilage map can be correlated to a movement pattern of the joint to assess the affect of movement on cartilage wear. Changes in the thickness of cartilage over time can be determined so that therapies can be provided. Information on thickness of cartilage and curvature of cartilage or subchondral bone can be used to plan therapy. Information on movement pattern can be used to plan therapy.

Claims

1. A method of treating a human joint disease involving cartigage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating the joint along one or more vectors tangent or perpendicular to the cartilage or bone surface; and

selecting a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of a human, which method comprises,

electronically tranferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device,

receiving the transferred image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_N to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_L, and

multiplying the D_L value times the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an inital time T₁,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an later time T₂, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions through the cartilage, and

determining the area of abnormally joint cartilage by identifying the areas having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T₁,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T₂,

placing the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T₁, and

measuring any differenes in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelectrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin regerence markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronic image data provides information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

10. The method claim 1, wherein said therapy comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material, a repair system, tibial corticotomy, femoral osteotomy or tibial osteotomy.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said therapy uses cartilage or bone tissue grown ex vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said image is obtained using ultrasound, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, a single photon emisison computed tomography scan, or MRI.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said information is used to generate a three-dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical model of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

16. The method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating the joint along one or more vectors tangent or perpendicular to the cartilage or bone surface; and

determining at least one of size and shape for at least one of a transplant, a graft, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material and a repair system based on said three dimensional evaluation.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of of a human, which method comprises,

electronically transferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device,

receiving the transferred image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_N to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_L, and

multiplying the D_L value times the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an inital time T₁,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an later time T₂, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions through the cartilage, and

determining the area of abnormally joint cartilage by identifying the areas having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T₁,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T₂,

placing the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T₁, and

measuring any differenes in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelectrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin regerence markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein said electronic image provides information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

25. The method claim 16, wherein said articular repair comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, tibial corticotomy, femoral or tibial osteotomy.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein said articular repair uses cartilage or bone tissue grown ex vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

28. The method of claim 16, wherein said image is obtained using ultrasound, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, a single photon emisison computed tomography scan, or MRI.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein said information is used to generate a three-dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical model of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

31. The method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating the joint along one or more vectors tangent or perpendicular to the cartilage or bone surface; and

designing a therapy based on said three dimensional evaluation.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determing the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of of a human, which method comprises,

electronically transferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device,

receiving the transferred image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_N to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_L, and

multiplying the D_L value times the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an inital time T₁,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an later time T₂, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions through the cartilage, and

determining the area of abnormally joint cartilage by identifying the areas having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T₁,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T₂,

placing the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T₁, and

measuring any differenes in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelectrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin regerence markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

39. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronic data provides information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

40. The mehtod of claim 31, wherein said therapy comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material and a repair system, tibial corticotomy, femoral or tibial osteotomy.

41. The method of claim 31, wherein said therapy uses cartilage or bone tissue grown ex vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

42. The method of claim 31, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

43. The method of claim 31, wherein said image is obtained using ultrasound, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, a single photon emission computed tomography scan, or MRI.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein said information is used to generate a three-dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical model of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

46. The method of claim 31, wherein said electronic data provides information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

47. The method of treating a human joint disease involoving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about volume, area, thickness, curvature, water content, sodium content, hyaluronic acid content, glycosaminoglycan content, signal intensity or relaxation time of said normal or diseased tissue, or three dimensional geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating said image data along one or more vectors tangent or perpendicular to the cartilage or bone surface surface; and

selecting or designing a therapy based on said three dimensional evaluation.

48. A method of trating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating further including;

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint coprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-demensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times; and

selecting a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

49. A method of trating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating further including;

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_D to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_D, and

multiplying the D_L value time the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss; and

selecting a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

50. The method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and disease cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating further including;

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an initial time T_1,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage at a later time T_2, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times; and

selecting a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

51. A method of treating a human joint diseas involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating further including;

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component in the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component in the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions in the cartilage, and

determining the areas of abnormally joint cartilage by indentifying the area having altered amounts of the biochemical component present; and

selecting a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

52. A method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a join, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electroncally evaluating further including;

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T_1,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T_2,

placing the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T_1, and

measuring any differences in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂; and

selecting a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

53. A method of treating a human joint diseas involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electornic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating further including;

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelectrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data; and

selecting a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

54. A method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic data associated with an image of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three-dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating cartilage or bone in said image along at least three vectors, at least one of the vectors being non-coplanar and non-parallel with at least two of the other vectors defining a vector plane; and

selecting or designing a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint coprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-demensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

56. The method of claim 54, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of a human, which method comprises,

electronically transferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device,

receiving the transferred image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

57. The method of claim 54, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_D to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_D, and

multiplying the D_L value time the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

58. The method of claim 54, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an initial time T_1,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage at a later time T_2, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

59. The method of claim 54, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component in the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component in the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions in the cartilage, and

determining the areas of abnormally joint cartilage by indentifying the area having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

60. A method of claim 54, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T_1,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T_2,

placing the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T_1, and

measuring any differences in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

61. A method of claim 54, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelectrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin regerence markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

62. The method of claim 54, wherein said electronic image provides information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

63. The method of claim 54, wherein said therapy comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material and a repair system, tibial corticotomy, femoral or tibial osteotomy.

64. The method of claim 54, wherein said therapy uses cartilage or bone tissue grown ex vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

65. The method of claim 54, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

66. The method of claim 54, wherein said image is obtained using ultrasound, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, a single photon emission computed tomography scan, or MRI.

67. The method of claim 66, wherein said information is used to generate a three-dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical model of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

69. A method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining electronic image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions cartilage or bone in said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint at a first point and a second point, wherein information related to the first point is derived based on at least one point of the joint that forms, with the first point, a first vector, wherein information related to the second point is derived based on at least one point of the joint that forms, with the second point, a second vector, and wherein the first and second vectors are non-coplanar and non-parallel; and

selecting or designing a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint coprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-demensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

71. The method of claim 69, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of a human, which method comprises,

electronically transferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device,

receiving the transferred image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

72. The method of claim 69, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_D to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_D, and

multiplying the D_L value time the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

73. The method of claim 69, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an initial time T_1,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage at a later time T_2, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

74. The method of claim 69, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component in the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component in the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions in the cartilage, and

determining the areas of abnormally joint cartilage by indentifying the area having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

75. A method of claim 69, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T_1,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T_2,

placing the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T_1, and

measuring any differences in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

76. A method of claim 69, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelectrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin regerence markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

77. The method of claim 69, wherein said electronic image data provides information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

78. The method of claim 69, wherein said therapy comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material and a repair system, tibial corticotomy, femoral or tibial osteotomy.

79. The method of claim 69, wherein said therapy uses cartilage or bone tissue grown ex vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

80. The method of claim 69, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

81. The method of claim 69, wherein said image is obtained using ultrasound, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, a single photon emission computed tomography scan, or MRI.

82. The method of claim 81, wherein said information is used to generate a three-dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical model of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

83. The method of claim 82, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

84. A method of treating a joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

imaging a joint on an imaging plane to obtain electronic image data, the image data including both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating cartilage or bone in said image along a vector that is non-parallel to the imaging plane; and

selecting or designing a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional vlume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

86. The method of claim 84, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of a human, which method comprises,

electronically transferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device,

receiving the transferring image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

87. The method of claim 84, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_D to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_D, and

multiplying the D_L value time the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

88. The method of claim 84, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an initial time T_1,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage at a later time T_2, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

89. The method of claim 84, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component in the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component in the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions in the cartilage, and

determining the areas of abnormally joint cartilage by indentifying the area having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

90. A method of claim 84, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T_1,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T_2,

placing the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T_1, and

measuring any differences in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

91. A method of claim 84, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelectrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin regerence markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

92. The method of claim 84, wherein said electronic image data provide information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

93. The method of claim 84, wherein said therapy comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material, a repair system, tibial corticotomy, femoral osteotomy or tibial osteotomy.

94. The method of claim 84, wherein said therapy uses cartilage or bone tissue grown ex vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

95. The method of claim 84, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

96. The method of claim 84, wherein said image is obtained using ultrasound, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, a single photon emission computed tomography scan, or MRI.

97. The method of claim 96, wherein siad information is used to generate a three-dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical modle of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

98. The method of claim 97, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

99. A method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining CT or MRI image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating the joint along at least two non-parallel planes ; and

selecting a therapy based on said three-dimensional evaluation.

100. The method of claim 99, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

101. The method of claim 99, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of a human, which method comprises,

electronically transferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device, receiving the transferred image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

102. The method of claim 99, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_N to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_L, and

multiplying the D_L value times the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

103. The method of claim 99, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an initial time T₁,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage at a later time T₂, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

104. The method of claim 99, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions through the cartilage, and

determining the areas of abnormally joint cartilage by identifying the areas having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

105. The method of claim 99, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T₁,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T₂,

placing the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T₁, and

measuring any differences in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

106. The method of claim 99, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelctrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

107. The method of claim 99, wherein said electronic image data provides information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

108. The method of claim 99, wherein said therapy comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material, a repair system, tibial corticotomy, femoral osteotomy or tibial osteotomy.

109. The method of claim 99, wherein said therapy uses cartilage or bone tissue grown ex vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

110. The method of claim 99, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

111. The method of claim 99, wherein said information is used to generate a three- dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical model of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

112. The method of claim 111, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

113. A method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining CT or MM image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating said joint along at least two non-parallel planes; and

determining at least one of size and shape for at least one of a transplant, a graft, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material and a repair system based on said three dimensional evaluation.

114. The method of claim 113, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

115. The method of claim 113, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of a human, which method compnses,

electronically transferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device,

receiving the transferred image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

116. The method of claim 113, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_N to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_L, and

multiplying the D_L value times the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

117. The method of claim 113, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an initial time T₁,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage at a later time T₂, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

118. The method of claim 113, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation of joint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions through the cartilage, and

determining the areas of abnormally joint cartilage by identifying the areas having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

119. The method of claim 113, wherein said electronically evaluating further compnses:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T₁,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T₂,

identifying the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T₁, and

measuring any differences in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

120. The method of claim 113, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelctrical image data for the assessment of the condition of a joint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

121. The method of claim 113, wherein said electronic image provides information on the thickness, shape, or curvature of said normal and said diseased tissue or the location and size of said diseased tissue.

122. The method of claim 113, wherein said articular repair comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, tibial corticotomy, femoral or tibial osteotomy.

123. The method of claim 113, wherein said articular repair uses cartilage or bone tissue grown ex vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

124. The method of claim 113, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

125. The method of claim 113, wherein said information is used to generate a three- dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical model of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

126. The method of claim 125, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

127. A method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining CT or MRI image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating said joint along at least two non-parallel planes; and

designing a therapy based on said three dimensional evaluation.

128. The method of claim 127, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the loss of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and accompanying bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at an initial time and calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the initial time,

obtaining a three-dimensional representation of the cartilage at a later time,

calculating the thickness or regional volume of a region of degenerated cartilage evaluated at the later time, and

determining the loss in thickness or regional volume of the region of degenerated cartilage between the later and initial times.

129. The method of claim 127, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

assessing the condition of cartilage in a joint of a human, which method comprises,

electronically transferring an electronically generated image of a cartilage of the joint from a transferring device to a receiving device located distant from the transferring device,

receiving the transferred image at the distant location,

converting the transferred image to a degeneration pattern of the cartilage, and

transmitting the degeneration pattern to a site for analysis.

130. The method of claim 127, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

determining the volume of cartilage loss in a region of a cartilage defect of a cartilage in a joint of a mammal which method comprises,

determining the thickness, D_N, of the normal cartilage near the cartilage defect,

obtaining the thickness of the cartilage defect, D_D, of the region,

subtracting D_D form D_N to give the thickness of the cartilage loss, D_L, and

multiplying the D_L value times the area of the cartilage defect, A_D, to give the volume of cartilage loss.

131. The method of claim 127, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint of a mammal over time, which method comprises,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of a region of cartilage at an initial time T₁,

estimating the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage at a later time T₂, and

determining the change in the thickness or width or area or volume of the region of cartilage between the initial and the later times.

132. The method of claim 127, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

providing a biochemically based representation ofjoint cartilage of a mammal, wherein the joint comprises cartilage and associated bones on either side of the joint, which method comprises,

measuring a detectable biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

determining the relative amounts of the biochemical component throughout the cartilage,

evaluating the amounts of the biochemical component in three dimensions through the cartilage, and

determining the areas of abnormally joint cartilage by identifying the areas having altered amounts of the biochemical component present.

133. The method of claim 127, wherein said electronically evaluating further comprises:

estimating the change of cartilage in a joint, wherein the joint comprises articular cartilage, which method comprises,

defining a 3D object coordinate system of the joint at an initial time, T₁,

identifying a region of a cartilage defect within the 3D object coordinate system,

defining a volume of interest around the region of the cartilage defect whereby the volume of interest is larger than the region of cartilage defect, but does not encompass the entire articular cartilage,

defining the 3D object coordinate system of the joint at a second timepoint, T₂,

identifying the identically-sized volume of interest into the 3D object coordinate system at timepoint T₂ using the object coordinates of the volume of interest at timepoint T₁, and

measuring any differences in cartilage volume within the volume of interest between timepoints T₁ and T₂.

134. The method of claim 127, wherein said electronically evaluating further compnses:

correlating cartilage image data, bone image data, and optoelctrical image data for the assessment of the condition of ajoint, which method comprises,

(a) obtaining the cartilage image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers placed externally near the joint,

(b) obtaining the bone image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as the markers in (a),

(c) obtaining the optoelectrical image data of the joint with a set of skin reference markers positioned in the same manner as (a) and (b), and

(d) using the skin reference markers to correlate the images obtained in (a), (b) and (c) with each other, wherein each skin reference marker is detectable in the cartilage and bone data and the opto-electrical data.

135. The method of claim 127, wherein said therapy comprises autologous chondrocyte transplantation, osteochondral allografting, osteochondral autografting, an implant, a replacement material, a scaffold, a regenerating material, a repair system, tibial corticotomy, femoral osteotomy or tibial osteotomy.

136. The method of claim 127, wherein said therapy uses cartilage or bone tissue grown cx vivo, stem cells, an artificial non-human material, an agent that stimulates repair of said diseased tissue, or an agent.

137. The method of claim 127, wherein said information is used to determine the thickness or other geometrical feature of a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold, or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

138. The method of claim 127, wherein said information is used to generate a three- dimensional representation of cartilage thickness or a physical model of said normal or said diseased tissue or both.

139. The method of claim 138, wherein said physical model is used to shape a tissue transplant, a tissue graft, a tissue implant, a tissue replacement material, a tissue scaffold or a tissue regenerating material or tissue repair system.

140. A method of treating a human joint disease involving cartilage comprising:

obtaining CT or MRI image data of a joint, wherein said image data includes both normal and diseased cartilage tissue;

electronically evaluating in three dimensions said image data to obtain information about volume, area, thickness, curvature, water content, sodium content, hyaluronic acid content, glycosaminoglycan content, signal intensity or relaxation time of said normal or diseased tissue, or three dimensional geometry of the joint, said electronically evaluating including evaluating said joint along at least two non-parallel planes; and

selecting or designing a therapy based on said three dimensional evaluation.