Abstract #1244

Othman S, Moinness J, Magin R, Xu H, Li J, Muehleman C

Assessment of articular cartilage degeneration is an important step in the staging of joint disease. MRI could play a bigger role in diagnosis if we can better understand the relationship between cartilage structure, MR relaxation (T2) and water diffusion (ADC). In this study, we correlated the tissue structure in human cartilage at different stages of deterioration with the MR properties of each layer. The ADC and T2 relaxation time of normal cartilage are not constant within the cartilage, reflecting its colligative properties and water content. The ADC values increased in the cartilage with disease progression.