title: Spectrum of T2* values in knee joint cartilage at 3 T: a cross-sectional analysis in asymptomatic young adult volunteers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish baseline T2* values in healthy knee joint cartilage at 3 T.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four volunteers (mean age: 24.6 ± 2.7 years) with no history or clinical findings indicative of any knee joint disease were enrolled. The protocol included a double-echo steady-state (DESS) sequence for morphological cartilage evaluation and a gradient-echo multi-echo sequence for T2* assessment. Bulk and zonal T2* values were assessed in eight regions: posterior lateral femoral condyle; central lateral femoral condyle; trochlea; patella; lateral tibial plateau; posterior medial femoral condyle; central medial femoral condyle; and medial tibial plateau. Statistical evaluation comprised a two-tailed t test and a one-way analysis of variance to identify zonal and regional differences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  T2* mapping revealed higher T2* values in the superficial zone in all regions (P values ≤ 0.001) except for the posterior medial femur condyle (P = 0.087), and substantial regional differences demonstrating superior values in trochlear cartilage, intermediate values in patellar and central femoral condylar cartilage, and low T2* values in posterior femoral condylar cartilage and tibial plateau cartilage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Substantial regional differences in T2* measures should be taken into consideration when conducting T2* mapping of knee joint cartilage.
authors.affiliation: Medical Faculty, Department of Orthopaedics, University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany, bbittersohl@partners.org.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bittersohl
authors.forename: Harish S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Hosalkar
authors.forename: Malte
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sondern
authors.forename: Falk R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Miese
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Antoch
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krauspe
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zilkens
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult