A bi-component ultra-short echo-time (UTE) T2* mapping sequence was performed on the knees of 10 patients with patellar tendinopathy and 10 healthy volunteers at 3T. The fraction of the fast relaxing water component (FF) and the T2 relaxation times of the fast relaxing (T2*F,) and slow relaxing (T2*S) water components of patellar tendon were measured. Patients with patellar tendinopathy had significantly lower FF (P=0.007), significantly higher T2*F (P=0.014), and similar T2*S (P=0.10) of patellar tendon when compared to healthy volunteers. Our results suggest that bi-component UTE T2* analysis can detect early compositional and microstructural changes in degenerative tendon.
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