Optional medical device diagnostics – depending on the results of the history, physical examination, laboratory diagnostics, and obligatory medical device diagnostics – for differential diagnostic clarification.
- Radiographs of the knee joint (aps: anterior/posterior/supination; beam path from anterior to posterior in a bent-back position) – standard examination for osteoarthritis assessment (possibly with a long plate- for leg axis) and for detection of fractures (broken bones)
- Computed tomography (CT; sectional imaging method (X-ray images from different directions with computer-based evaluation), particularly well suited to the representation of bony injuries) of the knee joint – for the examination of bony structures (cysts, tumors).
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; computer-assisted cross-sectional imaging (using magnetic fields, i.e., without X-rays); particularly well suited for imaging soft tissue injuries) of the knee joint – for the examination of soft tissue structures (menisci, cruciate ligaments, ganglia, etc.) [gold standard in gonalgia]
- Ultrasound diagnostics – to rule out joint effusion, capsular swelling, synovial villi (finger-shaped protrusions of the inner layer (membrana synovialis) of the joint capsule), bursitis (bursitis) and popliteal cyst (a fluid-filled bulge in the popliteal fossa)
