Research

Felix Eckstein’s research is focused on investigating form-function-relations and the mechano-biology of musculoskeletal tissues, with a main interest in the functional adaptation of synovial joints to mechanical stimuli. In his group he collaborates with engineers and computer specialists to develop quantitative image analysis methods and parameters, by which the process of functional adaptation of musculoskeletal tissues (specifically articular cartilage, bone, meniscus, and muscle) can be dynamically investigated in the living. From there, he developed an increasing interest in applying these methods and parameters in experimental, epidemiological, and clinical studies that investigate the causes, the predictability, and the structural incidence and progression of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

The current focus of his research is on the clinical validation of quantitative imaging biomarkers as surrogates for clinical endpoints (pain and function) and the evaluation of the efficacy of structure-modifying-intervention in the above diseases. As of 2004 he is director of the Institute for Anatomy and musculoskeletal research at Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg and there formed an interdisciplinary group that is known for its proprietary measurement technology. This technology is used to measure longitudinal tissue changes (e.g. cartilage loss) with high sensitivity and three-dimensionally based on magnetic resonance tomography. These methods are applied in large epidemiological studies (i.e. Framingham osteoarthritis study, US Osteoarthritis Initiative], to determine risk factors, the predictability, and the success of therapeutic intervention of musculoskeltal diseases.

With a group of internationally renowned scientists, Felix Eckstein developed a nomenclature of quantitative imaging biomarkers of articular cartilage. In 2007, he organized the first “International Workshop for Imaging in Osteoarthritis, which consequently became an annual workshop and serves to unite the community of scientists with potential applicants of imaging technology in the clinic, in the pharmaceutical industry, and with regulatory agencies.