Abstract #0658

Correlation Time Mapping of Articular Cartilage: correlation with tissue composition and structure

Hassaan Elsayed^1,2, Stefan Zbyn², Mikko J Nissi^3,4, Jari Rautiainen^1,2,3,5, Matti Hanni^1,2,5, and Miika T Nieminen^1,2,5

¹Medical Research Center, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland, ²Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, ³Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, ⁴Diagnostic Imaging Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland, ⁵Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland

Correlation time ($$$\tau_c$$$) is a physical property of the tissue that describes the dynamics of water molecules in their microenvironment. In this study, $$$\tau_c$$$ and T2 maps were obtained from enzymatically digested bovine samples. To evaluate the relationship between $$$\tau_c$$$and macromolecular components of cartilage, depth-wise $$$\tau_c$$$ profiles were correlated with quantitative histological measurements. The same comparison was performed for T2 data. Our results suggest that $$$\tau_c$$$ is sensitive to the laminar architecture of cartilage and to the proteoglycan content in the radial zone. $$$\tau_c$$$ provides complementary information to conventional T2 mapping.

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