Multiecho IDEAL gradient-echo water-fat separation for rapid assessment of cartilage volume at 1.5 T: initial experience.
Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained for this HIPAA-compliant study. The purpose was to prospectively compare multiecho iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-squares estimation (IDEAL) gradient-echo (GRE) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with three-dimensional fat-suppressed (FS) spoiled GRE (SPGR) MR imaging to evaluate the articular cartilage of the knee. Six healthy volunteer and 10 cadaver knees were imaged at 1.5 T. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), SNR efficiency, and cartilage volume were measured. SNR and SNR efficiency were significantly higher with multiecho IDEAL GRE than with FS SPGR imaging (P < .031). Both methods produced equivalent cartilage volumes (overall concordance correlation coefficient, 0.998) with high precision and accuracy. The use of a cartilage phantom confirmed high accuracy in volume measurements and high reproducibility for both methods. Multiecho IDEAL GRE provides high signal intensity in cartilage and synovial fluid and is a promising technique for imaging articular cartilage of the knee.
Chen
Christina A
CA
Department of Radiology, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Dr, S0-68B, Stanford, CA 94305-5105, USA.
Lu
Wenmiao
W
John
Chand T
CT
Hargreaves
Brian A
BA
Reeder
Scott B
SB
Delp
Scott L
SL
Siston
Robert A
RA
Gold
Garry E
GE
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001834:Body Water; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology*; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000473:pathology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013382:Subtraction Technique; D014867:Water
D014867:Water