Sarah L. Pownder1,
Michael O. Schaer2, Richard Ma, 23, Xiang-Hua Deng2,
Matthew F. Koff1, Scott A. Rodeo, 23, Hollis G. Potter1
1MRI
Research Laboratory, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, United
States; 2Laboratory for Soft Tissue Research, Hospital for Special
Surgery, New York, NY, United States; 3Department of Orthopaedic
Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, United States
Knee motion after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) has been shown to improve healing and bone integration of the tendon graft. However, no non-invasive quantitative methods exist with which to assess graft strain in the common clinical setting of ACLR. This study evaluates the use of ultrashort echo time MRI to objectively evaluate quantitative differences of ACLR tendon grafts in a rabbit model that have undergone different degrees of applied load.