Abstract #3212

1H Relaxation Properties of Achilles Tendons Measured by 3D-UTE at 3T & 7T: A Feasibility Study

Vladimir Juras^1,2, Stefan Zbyn¹, Vladimir Jellus³, Pavol Szomolanyi^1,2, Ivan Frollo², Siegfried Trattnig¹

¹Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Austria; ²Department of Imaging Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Bratislava, Slovakia; ³Siemens AG, Erlangen, Germany

Proton NMR relaxation properties (T₂*) in human Achilles tendon were assessed in vivo at 3T and 7T field strength. 3D-UTE sequence (capable of minimum TE=0.07ms) was used with the set of 8 different TE {min 0.07 ms, max 4.00 ms}. T₂* were found to be statistically significantly different between two field strengths in the most of the selected anatomical regions. Bulk T₂* was 0.980.08ms (3T) and 0.410.10 (7T). T₂ may prospectively serve as a marker for diagnosis of early tendon diseases.