Thorsten Persigehl1,2, Britta Wiesktter3,
Stefanie Remmele4, Hannah Tiggemann3, Janine Ring1,
Jochen Keupp4, Walter Heindel1, Christoph Bremer1,
Richard Stange3, Volker Vieth1
1Department of Clinical
Radiology, University Hospital Muenster, Mnster, NRW, Germany; 2Department
of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United
States; 3Department of Trauma, Hand & Reconstructive Surgery,
University Hospital Muenster, Mnster, NRW, Germany; 4Philips
Research Hamburg, Hamburg, HH, Germany
Angiogenesis is an essential progress in bone fracture healing. The aim of this study was to evaluate USPIO-enhanced susceptibly-corrected ∆R2* MR-relaxometry in a bone fracture rat model. USPIO-enhanced ∆R2* MR-relaxometry was performed on day 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after surgery and confirmed by histological microvessel density analysis. Thus, we concluded that ∆R2* MR-relaxometry allows an in-vivo monitoring of angiogenic changes in fracture healing and may facilitate experimental studies in bone repair, investigation of its underlying mechanisms, and possible novel molecular therapies.