title: Chondromalacia patellae: an in vitro study. Comparison of MR criteria with histologic and macroscopic findings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop MR criteria for grades of chondromalacia patellae and to assess the accuracy of these grades.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fat-suppressed T2-weighted double-echo, fat-suppressed T2-weighted fast spin echo, fat-suppressed T1-weighted, and gradient echo sequences were performed at 1.5 T for the evaluation of chondromalacia. A total of 1000 MR, 200 histologic, and 200 surface locations were graded for chondromalacia and statistically compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with gross inspection as well as with histology the most accurate sequences were fat-suppressed T2-weighted conventional spin echo and fat suppressed T2-weighted fast spin echo, although the T1-weighted and proton density images also correlated well. The most accurate MR criteria applied to the severe grades of chondromalacia, with less accurate results for lesser grades.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that fat-suppressed routine T2-weighted and fast spin echo T2-weighted sequences seem to be more accurate than proton density, T1-weighted, and gradient echo sequences in grading chondromalacia. Good histologic and macroscopic correlation was seen in more severe grades of chondromalacia, but problems remain for the early grades in all sequences studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Leersum
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schweitzer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gannon
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Finkel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vinitski
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D002357:Cartilage Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010329:Patella / Q000473:pathology*