Ultrashort TE T1rho (UTE T1rho) imaging of the Achilles tendon and meniscus.
In this study, we report the use of a novel ultrashort echo time T(1)rhoT(1) sequence that combines a spin-lock preparation pulse with a two-dimensional ultrashort echo time sequence of a nominal echo time 8 microsec. The ultrashort echo time-T(1)rho sequence was employed to quantify T(1)rho in short T(2) tissues including the Achilles tendon and the meniscus. T(1)rho dispersion was investigated by varying the spin-lock field strength. Preliminary results on six cadaveric ankle specimens and five healthy volunteers show that the ultrashort echo time-T(1)rho sequence provides high signal and contrast for both the Achilles tendon and the meniscus. The mean T(1)rho of the Achilles tendon ranged from 3.06 +/- 0.51 msec for healthy volunteers to 5.22 +/- 0.58 msec for cadaveric specimens. T(1)rho increased to 8.99 +/- 0.24 msec in one specimen with tendon degeneration. A mean T(1)rho of 7.98 +/- 1.43 msec was observed in the meniscus of the healthy volunteers. There was significant T(1)rho dispersion in both the Achilles tendon and the meniscus. Mean T(1)rho increased from 2.06 +/- 0.23 to 7.85 +/- 0.74 msec in normal Achilles tendon and from 7.08 +/- 0.64 to 13.42 +/- 0.93 msec in normal meniscus when the spin-lock field was increased from 250 to 1,000 Hz.
Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, California 92103-8756, USA. jiangdu@ucsd.edu
Jiang
J
Du
Michael
M
Carl
Eric
E
Diaz
Atsushi
A
Takahashi
Eric
E
Han
Nikolaus M
NM
Szeverenyi
Christine B
CB
Chung
Graeme M
GM
Bydder
D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000465:Algorithms; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity