News & Events

Announcements for 2007

September 13, 2007 (historical)

OAI Announces Availability of New Data and Images

The Steering Committee of the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) announces the availability of its next installment of data and images for the OAI cohort to members of the scientific community registered on OAI Online (www.oai.ucsf.edu). The OAI is a public-private partnership between the National Institutes of Health and private industry that seeks to improve diagnosis and monitoring of osteoarthritis (OA) and foster development of new treatments.

The latest installment is the fourth and largest so far in a series of unparalleled, state-of-the-art longitudinal images and clinical outcome information made available to expedite the pace of scientific studies and identification of biological and structural markers (biomarkers) for OA. Researchers can analyze the data to form new hypotheses for further study of OA, which is the major cause of activity limitation and disability in older people. Nearly 4,800 people at risk of developing knee OA, in the early stage of the disease or with more advanced knee OA, are participating in the OAI at four centers around the United States. Participants in the research study provide biological specimens (blood, urine and DNA); images (X-rays and magnetic resonance scans); and clinical data (such as dietary intake, medication use and pain, function, and general health assessments).

Newly available features from the study include:

  • Interview, questionnaire and examination data from baseline clinical visits, along with corresponding documentation for the entire cohort
  • Baseline and 12-month X-ray and MRI images for the first half of the cohort
  • Biomarker datasets for the baseline and 12-month visit for the first half of the cohort
  • Changes, in some cases, to previously released data and images.

The site also has several other new features, including:

  • A tutorial to walk researchers through the tools that are available on OAI Online for touring and understanding the website and data
  • A search-and-browse feature that researchers can use to 1) search for any variables of interest, 2) easily access the form that was used to collect the data, and 3) get a preliminary look at the frequencies and review any pertinent comments and the Statistical Analysis Software code about a variable that could be of assistance while working on analyses
  • Data Explorer, to satisfy users' immediate curiosity about the data by generating descriptive statistics, such as frequency distributions and cross tables, in just a couple of mouse clicks.

To date, approximately 640 people, representing 41 countries, have registered for OAI Online, and a total of 555 datasets have been downloaded. Other researchers who would like to register may do so at www.oai.ucsf.edu. The site also has information and other resources available to the public.