title: Cartilage evaluation with biochemical MR imaging using in vivo Knee compression at 3T-comparison of patients after cartilage repair with healthy volunteers.
abstract: Magnetic resonance (MR) transverse relaxation time (T2) mapping has been frequently used to evaluate collagen content and its organization. In this study, MR T2 mapping, using the multi-slice, multi-echo Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill technique, was performed in volunteers and patients after matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte transplantation (MACT) under unloading and loading conditions with an MR-compatible compression device. In the volunteer study, a statistically significant decrease in the cartilage MR T2 values was observed during the loading phase when compared to the initial load-free measurement. During the recovery period, a statistically significant increase in the T2 values was found in the central superficial layer (p=0.001), the central deep layer (p=0.005), the posterior deep layer (p=0.001), and in the tibia superficial layer (p=0.01) when compared to measurements under loading. In patients after MACT, during unloading or loading conditions, statistically significant changes in T2 values were observed in the transplant deep zone (p=0.005), in the posterior deep zone (p=0.004), and in the tibia superficial zone (p=0.012). The results of this study show that MR T2 mapping under loading conditions may provide additional information about cartilage repair tissue composition and organization during the postoperative follow-up, and may help to evaluate the efficacy of cartilage-repair surgery techniques.
authors.affiliation: High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schoenbauer
authors.affiliation: High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; Department of Imaging Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 84219 Bratislava, Slovakia. Electronic address: pavol.szomolanyi@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: Pavol
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Szomolanyi
authors.affiliation: High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiomi
authors.affiliation: High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; Department of Imaging Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 84219 Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Juras
authors.affiliation: High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; CD Laboratory for Clinical Molecular MR Imaging, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Štefan
authors.initials: Š
authors.lastname: Zbýň
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Medical University of Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Donaueschingenstraße 13, A-1200 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trattnig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000637:transplantation; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: 3T T(2) Mapping; Articular cartilage; Autologous chondrocyte transplantation; In vivo cartilage loading; MRI