AbstractWe demonstrate in this study the potential of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a tool for monitoring progression of cartilage degeneration in an animal model. Osteoarthritic degeneration was artificially induced in one joint in laboratory rats, and the animals were sacrificed at four time points: 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks (3 animals/week). NIR spectra were acquired from both (injured and intact) knees. Subsequently, the joint samples were subjected to histological evaluation and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content analysis, to assess disease severity based on the Mankin scoring system and to determine proteoglycan loss, respectively. Multivariate spectral techniques were then employed for classification (principal component analysis and support vector machines) and prediction (partial least squares regression) of the samples’ Mankin scores and GAG content from their NIR spectra. Our results demonstrate that NIR spectroscopy is sensitive to degenerative changes in articular cartilage, and is capable of distinguishing between mild (weeks 1&2; Mankin <=2) and advanced (weeks 4&6; Mankin =>3) cartilage degeneration. In addition, the spectral data contains information that enables estimation of the tissue’s Mankin score (error = 12.6%, R² = 86.2%) and GAG content (error = 7.6%, R² = 95%). We conclude that NIR spectroscopy is a viable tool for assessing cartilage degeneration post-injury, such as, post-traumatic osteoarthritis.