Abstract #3242

Correlation between ADC & T1ρ-Relaxation Time for In-Vivo Assessment of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Hon J. Yu¹, Shadfar Bahri¹, Lutfi Tugan Muftuler¹, Orhan Nalcioglu¹, Vance Gardner²

¹Center for Functional Onco-Imaging, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States; ²Orthopaedic Education & Research Institute of Southern California, Orange, CA, United States

Measurements of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and T1rho-relaxation time were investigated as a combined means for in-vivo assessment of the degenerative states in lumbar discs. Visual classification of disc degeneration based on morphological change such as Pfirrmann grades, currently only-accepted means to assess disc-degeneration in vivo, is fundamentally inadequate as a quantitative means for assessment of disc degeneration or for validating other quantitative measurements in correlation with disc degeneration. The results indicate a strong positive linear correlation between the ADC and T1rho-relaxation time values in association with disc degeneration, demonstrating the potential values of ADC and T1rho as a combined means for in-vivo assessment of disc-degeneration.