Feasibility of High Resolution T2 & T2* Mapping of Metacarpophalangeal Joints in Children at 3T

Chen Lin¹, Scott A. Persohn¹, Boaz Karmazyn¹

A pilot study of shows high resolution of T2 and T2* mapping metacarpophalangeal cartilage in children is feasible at 3T despite its small size. The mean T2 value for normal group is 42.65.5msec and the mean T2* is 20.95.1msec. The profiles of T2 and T2* along the thickness of cartilage are consistent between subject. However, both inter-subject and intra subject variation of T2* is greater than T2, suggesting that T2 values would be a more reliable biomarker for detecting and monitoring the involvement of cartilage in diseases such as Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).