Course Description
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive musculoskeletal disease that affects over 240 million people worldwide with the hip and knee joints most often involved due to their weight-bearing roles. This disease is characterized by articular cartilage degeneration and bone remodeling which can lead to joint pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. Digital radiography (DR) is the primary imaging modality for patients with OA due to its accessibility, low cost, and ability to reveal key features such as joint space narrowing, subchondral sclerosis, and osteophyte formation. Digital radiography is also used to stage OA, monitor disease progression, and guide treatment planning. Radiologic technologists (RTs) play a central role in OA assessment by performing standard hip and knee imaging studies while accommodating a patient's OA-related pain and mobility challenges when needed. This course begins with an overview of hip and knee joint anatomy and the pathophysiology, epidemiology, and clinical presentation of OA. Learners will explore the strengths and limitations of DR, patient care strategies, recommended radiographic projections, and image evaluation criteria. This course concludes with a review of radiographic signs of OA, common grading systems, and DR's role in managing patients with OA. Upon completion of this course, RTs will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to safely and accurately produce high-quality hip and knee images for OA assessment.

Learning Objectives
After reviewing the content, the participant should be able to:

• EXPLAIN the pathophysiology, risk factors, and clinical presentation of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA).
• SUMMARIZE the benefits and limitations of using digital radiography (DR) to image patients with OA.
• OUTLINE the technical modifications used in DR to optimize image quality and IDENTIFY patient care strategies used to accommodate physical limitations.
• APPLY appropriate positioning and image acquisition techniques for recommended DR views of the hip and knee used to image patients with possible OA.
• IDENTIFY key radiographic signs of hip and knee OA and describe their use in standardized grading systems for staging disease severity.
• EXPLAIN the role of DR in planning treatment for patients with OA, including its use in monitoring disease progression, guiding interventions, and supporting perioperative assessment.

In order to receive CE credit, you must first complete the activity content. When completed, go to the "Take CE Test!" link to access the post-test.

Submit the completed answers to determine if you have passed the post-test assessment. You must answer 14 out of 18 questions correctly to receive CE credit. You will have no more than 3 attempts to successfully complete the post-test.

Participants successfully completing the activity content and passing the post-test will receive 2.25 ARRT Category A credits.

Approved by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists for ARRT Category A credit.

Approved by the state of Florida for ARRT Category A credit (for Technical credits). 

Texas direct credit.

This activity may be available in multiple formats or from different sponsors. ARRT does not allow CE activities such as Internet courses, home study programs, or directed readings to be repeated for CE credit in the same biennium.