Matthew Fenty1, Victor Babu Kassey1,
George Dodge2, Ari Borthakur1, Ravinder Reddy1
1CMROI, Radiology,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; 2McKay
Orthopaedics Labs, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and painful condition with a multi-factorial etiology of the musculoskeletal system affecting more than 50% of the U.S. population over 65. Degeneration of the articular cartilage, which is believed to be a primary factor in the development of OA, is a slow process and typically takes decades to have full thickness loss. Dunkin-Hartley guinea pigs have been shown to develop OA with the earliest stage of detection manifesting as early as three to four months of age. T1ρ MRI has been shown to correlate with cartilage proteoglycan content. However, there have been no T1ρ MRI studies in the Dunkin-Hartley guinea pig model with naturally occurring joint disease that closely mimics human OA. The aim of this study is to quantify age-dependent cartilage degeneration via T1ρ MRI with verification by histopathology measurements.