Boston
EAVESDROPPING on the inaudible rumblings of damaged knees could help doctors
diagnose diseases such as osteoarthritis—or let football managers decide
if an injured player is ready to take to the pitch again.
Many knee conditions involve damage to cartilage, the soft tissue on the ends
of bones that cushions the joint. When a joint is in action, the cartilage gets
compressed and vibrates and some doctors have used stethoscopes or even a small
microphone to amplify the sound it makes. But it’s hard for doctors to tell the
sounds of healthy and damaged cartilage apart, so they mostly…
