How should this result inform an individual's care?

How could imaging AI affect healthcare costs and quality of life?

Results explained with study numbers

Enlarge Figure

The model estimated lifetime costs of $137,710 for the AI strategy and $140,834 for usual assessment, with $3,125 lower incremental cost and 0.260 more QALYs.

Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery American Volume (2026). DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.25.01278 · Original explanatory chart based on reported data

Evidence & Original Source Image use terms

The research question

Consistent OA assessment prompts the next question: could changes in diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment alter healthcare costs and quality of life? This study calculated that pathway with an economic model.

What was tested?

A hypothetical Korean cohort aged ≥50 was modelled over a lifetime with AI-assisted versus conventional grading. Base-case estimates were $3,125 lower costs and 0.260 additional quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Across varied assumptions, the probability of cost-effectiveness was 55.1%.

Reading this in a clinical context

Measurement technology matters when its numbers improve treatment pathways and daily life. These estimates can guide the next validation using real clinical data.

Scope of Interpretation

This was a simulated cohort, not a trial allocating real patients to two treatments. Results depended on AI costs and nonsurgical-treatment assumptions. It does not guarantee $3,125 savings or a corresponding health gain for an individual.

Look at the study numbers again.

Age ≥50Hypothetical cohort

0.260Estimated QALY gain

55.1%Probability of cost-effectiveness

RESEARCH FINDINGUSD

Modelled lifetime costs

AI-assisted grading

137,710

Conventional grading

140,834

080,000160,000

These are healthcare-system model estimates. Before rounding, the paper reported an incremental cost reduction of $3,125.

Participants and Methods

This was a model-based hypothetical cohort, not an intervention trial involving actual patients.

A decision-tree and Markov model simulated disease progression and treatment pathways in a hypothetical cohort aged 50 or older. Costs, QALYs, ICERs and sensitivity analyses were assessed from a healthcare-system perspective.

Results Reported in the Paper

Estimated lifetime cost and QALYs were $137,710 and 22.721 for the AI strategy, versus $140,834 and 22.461 for conventional assessment. The paper reported a $3,125 cost reduction, a 0.260 QALY gain and an ICER of −$12,031/QALY.

At a willingness-to-pay threshold of $34,642, the probability of cost-effectiveness in probabilistic sensitivity analysis was 55.1%. Results were sensitive to assumptions about AI costs and the effectiveness of nonsurgical treatment.

KyungYi Kim, Sang Yoon Kim, Sung Sik Kim, Jae Hun Kim, Du Hyun Ro, Byung Sun Choi. Cost-Effectiveness of AI-Assisted Kellgren-Lawrence Grading of Knee Osteoarthritis in the South Korean Health-Care System. The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume. 2026. doi:10.2106/JBJS.25.01278.

Excerpt from the original abstract

Early diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is often delayed due to reliance on subjective interpretation of radiographs. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI)-based automated Kellgren-Lawrence…

Read abstract on PubMed

How could imaging AI affect healthcare costs and quality of life?

Results explained with study numbers

The research question

What was tested?

Reading this in a clinical context

Scope of Interpretation

Look at the study numbers again.

Modelled lifetime costs

Common Questions

Participants and Methods

Results Reported in the Paper

Scope of Interpretation

Keywords

Results explained with study numbers

The research question

What was tested?

Reading this in a clinical context

Scope of Interpretation

Look at the study numbers again.

Modelled lifetime costs

Common Questions

Participants and Methods

Results Reported in the Paper

Scope of Interpretation

Keywords

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