About the OAI

The Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) is a multi-center, 16-year observational study of knee osteoarthritis. This initiative was a public-private partnership between the NIH and private industry that sought to develop a public-domain research resource to facilitate the scientific evaluation of biomarkers for osteoarthritis as potential surrogate endpoints for disease onset and progression. The OAI has a rich set of publicly available resources, including downloadable images (e.g., knee magnetic resonance imaging and radiographs), biospecimens (available upon request), genome-wide association study (GWAS) data, clinical data, and accelerometry data.

New! Check out the new Step-by-Step Guide to Using OAI Data.

• NIAMS’s Summary of the Osteoarthritis Initiative  
• OAI Data (and Image) Repository (via NIMH Data Archive [NDA]) 
  • Please remember to complete your Data Use Agreement
    • Go to https://nda.nih.gov/oai
    • Login via Login.Gov
    • Go to "My Account" (upper right) --> Click "Data Permissions"
    • Scroll down to "Request Access to a Permission Group" and find the "Osteoarthritis Initiative" and click "Request Access"
    • Click" Start Request" and follow any other prompts
• OAI Study Protocol and Appendices (via NDA; Last Updated: Oct 18, 2017)
• OAI Examination Measures (via NDA; Last Updated: Sep 10, 2018)
• OAI Questionnaire Measures (via NDA; Last Updated: Oct 18, 2017)
• OAI Documentation (Requires NDA login)
• OAI Variable Guide (Requires NDA login)
• OAI GWAS Repository (via dbGaP)
• Biospecimens Access Policy and Procedures Statement 
• Application Guide for Biospecimens Studies 
• Biospecimen Request Form