Abstract #3464

Ultrashort Echo Time Magnetization Transfer (UTE-MT) Imaging of Meniscus

Jiang Du¹, Shihong Li¹,², Michael Carl³, Monica Tafur¹, Nikolaus M. Szeverenyi¹, Eric Chang¹, Christine Chung¹, Graeme M. Bydder⁴

¹Radiology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States; ²Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; ³Global Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, San Diego, CA, United States; ⁴Radiology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States

Clinical magnetization transfer (MT) sequences employ off-resonance saturation pulses followed by a conventional data acquisition. The MT pulse typically results in selective saturation of tightly bound water and collagen protons which exchange with the loosely bound water and then free water, leading to a loss of longitudinal magnetization and hence a signal reduction. However, clinical MT sequences cannot detect MT effects in short T2 tissues such as the menisci, ligaments, tendons and bone when there is little or no detectable signal present. In this study we evaluated ultrashort echo time (UTE) MT imaging of the meniscus. The angular dependence of MT ratio (MTR) as well as T2 and T1rho of meniscus were investigated.