ICRS Focus Meeting Imaging and Decision Making Medical University Vienna, Vienna

Imaging and Decision-Making in Cartilage-Regenerative Surgery
Advanced Imaging Technology in radiology, particularly Magnetic Resonance Imaging, has emerged during the last decades and has always been the focus of cartilage repair. The proper treatment indication before surgery and a relevant noninvasive evaluation of the outcome after surgery is essential and can be strongly supported by noninvasive imaging. Additionally, imaging can evaluate and monitor the efficacy of newly developed surgical cartilage repair techniques.

The semiquantitative MOCART Score was developed in Vienna 20 years ago and was a hallmark in the systematic morphological analysis of cartilage repair. Moreover, new compositional MR methods such as T2 mapping, dGEMRIC, sodium imaging, gagCEST imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging were developed or improved in Vienna and applied for the first time in patients after cartilage repair surgery. Also, cell-based cartilage repair therapies were applied and studied in Vienna by pioneers in the field and published with partners all over Europe. Austria was also one of the first countries in Europe with a remuneration of ACT in the social system.

Five years after our last meeting on imaging and cartilage surgery, we will meet again in Vienna for a Focus Meeting to revisit the latest developments in surgical technology and new imaging scoring systems like MOCART 2.0 on various joints and new advanced compositional MR methods such as texture analysis.

A comprehensive wet-lab skills course on human specimens will start at the Vienna Anatomical Institute and will be held on Monday morning. In the afternoon, talks will follow on the updated MRI and radiology technology, including the latest news from the Artificial Intelligence sector. Clinical scientists, surgeons, and experienced radiologists will discuss and present the latest insights in imaging interpretation for indication and evaluation in cartilage surgery.

The Medical University of Vienna, with its High Field MR Center and the ICRS expert group in Austria, welcomes an international faculty and audience to meet again after the pandemic to support ICRS mission: education, skills and science in cartilage repair – worldwide!

The vibrant city of Vienna will serve as a fruitful and exciting background to host this Focus Meeting. So, learn about the MOCART Score and “See what you can do in cartilage repair!”. But also enjoy inspiring Mozart music and visiting the perfect fine arts of Vienna’s cultural heritage.