MRI offers the opportunity for early characterization of cartilage in injured joints with emerging contrast mechanisms such as T1ρ. The purpose of this work was to investigate the ability of T1ρ to detect early cartilage changes in a large animal (goat) model of PTOA. T1ρ imaging of injured joints showed increased relaxation times six months after injury compared to uninjured contralateral joints in five animals. T1ρ may help better elucidate the time course and mechanisms of cartilage degeneration in PTOA.
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