Clinical Trial: Analysis of Human Knee Joint Fluid Using Metabonomic, Genomic and Tribology Techniques

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Observational



Official Title: Looking for Biomarkers in Human Joint Fluid Using Metabonomic, Microbiomic and Tribological Analysis

Brief Summary:

Making the diagnosis underlying a painful, swollen joint currently involves aspiration followed by numerous microbiological and biochemical laboratory tests. This can be costly, time consuming and in the case of an acutely swollen joint, lead to a lengthy inpatient admission. There is an unmet need to provide a quick, easy, reliable dipstick like test to analyse joint fluid in the community, clinic, or emergency department setting.

The investigators aim to use well established metabonomic techniques to:

  1. Analyse fluid from patients with swollen joints
  2. Identify potential biomarkers of inflammatory, infective and osteoarthritic causes of joint swelling
  3. Correlate this with lubrication and wear properties of the fluid The long term goal is to develop time saving, cost effective, non-invasive diagnostic tests to improve management of a swollen joint. The biomedical research centre at Imperial provides a unique and unparalleled clinical and scientific environment to conduct this research. The Imperial College division of Computational and Systems Medicine has an international reputation in metabonomics and this, together with the high volume of patients with swollen joints treated at Imperial National Health Service Trust (c1000/yr) ensures that the study can take place in an environment conductive to success.