T2 Mapping Sequence for Detecting Cartilage Lesion Within the Knee Joint at 3.0T: Diagnostic Performance in 114 Patients with Surgical Correlation

Richard Kijowski¹, Donna Blankenbaker¹, Arthur De Smet¹, Geoffrey Baer², Ben Graf²

A routine MRI protocol consisting of multi-planar fast spin-echo sequences and a sagittal T2 mapping sequence were performed at 3.0T on the knee of 114 symptomatic patients who underwent subsequent arthroscopy. Two radiologists reviewed all MRI examinations to determine the presence or absence of cartilage lesions first using the routine MRI protocol alone and then using the routine MRI protocol along with the T2 maps. Adding the T2 mapping sequence to the routine MRI protocol improved the sensitivity for detecting surgically confirmed cartilage lesions from 72% to 88% with only a moderate reduction in specificity.