Differentiation of Charcot joint from osteomyelitis through dynamic bone imaging.

The bone scans of 25 patients with a clinical diagnosis of diabetic osteoarthropathy (Charcot joint) of the ankle and foot were analysed using the technique of dynamic bone imaging. The analysis of time-activity curves generated over the Charcot joint, the contralateral joint and the bone above the Charcot joint, produces characteristic patterns that are distinguishable from the ones observed for osteomyelitis. Recently it has been shown that the significance of dynamic bone imaging resides in its correlation to physiological and morphological components of bone. The difference in the blood supply to the long bones has been suggested as an explanation for the difference in time-activity curve patterns.