Abstract #3245

T2-Weighted-MRI & Dielectric Spectroscopy to Investigate Collagen Structure Behaviour During Cartilage Dehydration

Cesare E. M. Gruber^1,2, Cesare Cametti^1,3, Bruno Maraviglia^1,4, Silvia Capuani^1,2

¹Physics, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy; ²CNR-IPCF UOS, Rome, Italy; ³CNR-CRS-SOFT, Rome, Italy; ⁴Santa Lucia Foundation, Neuroimaging Laboratory, Rome, Italy

Cartilage aging, associated to a reduction in water content, is one of the leading risk factor for the developing of osteoarthritis. Aim of this study was to investigate cartilage dehydration, by means of quantitative T₂-weighted-MRI and radiowave dielectric-spectroscopy (DS) measurements as a function of dehydration time. Both techniques provided indirect information on the structural cartilage changes. In particular, DS provides the fraction of the broken hydrogen bounds between microfibrils, while T₂ is most sensible to the fleeble interacting water with collagen network. Our experimental data can help to elucidate the ability of T₂ maps to detect cartilage damage.