Imaging of the articular cartilage in osteoarthritis of the knee joint: 3D spatial-spectral spoiled gradient-echo vs. fat-suppressed 3D spoiled gradient-echo MR imaging.
OBJECTIVE
To compare three-dimensional (3D) spatial-spectral (SS) spoiled gradient-recalled acquisition in the steady state (SPGR) imaging with fat-suppressed 3D SPGR sequences in MR imaging of articular cartilage of the knee joint in patients with osteoarthritis.


METHODS
MR images of six patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were prospectively examined with a 1.5T MR scanner. For quantitative analyses, the signal-to-noise ratios, contrast-to-noise ratios, and contrast of cartilage and adjacent structures including meniscus, synovial fluid, muscle, fat tissue, and bone marrow were measured.


RESULTS
In patients with osteoarthritis, 3DSS-SPGR images demonstrated higher spatial resolution and higher mean signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios (cartilage, 24.9; synovial fluid, 12.3; muscle, 20.7; meniscus, 21.6), with shorter acquisition times (7 minutes 20 seconds), when compared to fat-suppressed 3D SPGR images (cartilage, 22.3; synovial fluid, 10.8; muscle, 16.7; meniscus, 13.4).


CONCLUSIONS
3DSS-SPGR imaging is a promising method for evaluating cartilage pathology in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and has the potential to replace fat-suppressed 3D SPGR imaging.
Yoshioka
Hiroshi
H
Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, California, USA.
Alley
Marcus
M
Steines
Daniel
D
Stevens
Kathryn
K
Rubesova
Erika
E
Genovese
Mark
M
Dillingham
Michael F
MF
Lang
Philipp
P
D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric