Abstract #3538

In Vivo High-Resolution Angular/Depth Dependent T2 and T1&[rho] Mapping Analysis of Femoral Cartilage at 3T

Hon J. Yu¹, Peter Huy Pham², Dave Michael Hitt³, Hiroshi Yoshioka⁴

¹Tu & Yuen Center for Functional Onco-Imaging, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States; ²Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA, United States; ³U.S. Clinical Science , Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, United States; ⁴Radiological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, United States

T2 and T1_&[rho] scans were performed for T2 and T1_&[rho] mapping of femoral cartilage at a 3T clinical scanner. Using a novel segmentation methodology previously demonstrated, this study shows the angular-orientation (magic-angle effect) and cartilage-depth dependent effects on T2 values of medial condyle whereas no such dependency was observed on T1_&[rho]. Despite of small sample size, the potential for quantitative, in vivo functional assessment of cartilage via T2 and T1_&[rho] mapping is clearly demonstrated in this study.