Siegfried Trattnig1, David Stelzeneder1,
Vladimir Juras1,2, Pavol Szomolanyi1,2, Goetz Hannes
Welsch1,3, Tallal Charles Mamisch4, Stefan Zbyn1
1MR Centre - High field MR, Department
of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; 2Department
of Imaging Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Slovak Academy of
Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia; 3Department of Trauma Surgery,
University Hospital of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany; 4Department of
Orthopedic Surgery, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland
The
feasibilty of sodium imaging in 12 patients after matrix-associated
autologous chondrocyte transplantation was demonstrated at 7 Tesla. The
repair tissue was well delineated on sodium imaging at 7T and with one
exception lower normalized sodium
values and thus a lower glycosaminoglycan content was found in the repair
tissue compared to healthy cartilage as a reference. A good correlation
between normalized sodium values at 7T and postcontrast T1 relaxation time
values at 3T was found. Sodium imaging at 7T is a promising tool in the
monitoring of the maturation of repair tissue after matrix-associated
autologous chondrocyte transplantation.