PURPOSE-To prospectively assess in a phantom the reconstruction errors and detection limits of cartilage thickness measurements from MDCT arthrography as a function of contrast agent concentration, imaging plane, spatial resolution, joint space and tube current, using known measurements as the reference standard.MATERIALS AND METHODS-A phantom with nine chambers was manufactured. Each chamber had a nylon cylinder encased by sleeves of aluminum and polycarbonate to simulate trabecular bone, cortical bone, and cartilage. Variations in simulated cartilage thickness and joint space were assessed. The phantom was scanned with and without contrast agent on three separate days, with chamber axes both perpendicular and parallel to the scanner axis. Images were reconstructed at intervals of both 1.0 and 0.5 mm. Contrast agent concentration and tube current were varied. Simulated cartilage thickness was determined from image segmentation. Root mean squared and mean residual errors were used to characterize the measurements. CT scanner and image segmentation reproducibility were determined. RESULTS-Simulated cartilage was reconstructed with < 10% error for thicknesses >1.0 mm when no contrast agent or a low concentration of contrast agent (25%) was used. Errors grew as concentration of contrast agent increased. Decreasing the simulated joint space to 0.5 mm caused slight increases in error; below 0.5 mm errors grew substantially. Measurements from anisotropic image data had errors greater than those for isotropic data. Altering tube current did not affect reconstruction errors. CONCLUSION-Our study establishes lower bounds and repeatability of simulated cartilage thickness measurement using MDCT arthrography, and provides data pertinent to choosing contrast agent concentration, joint spacing, scanning plane, and spatial resolution to reduce reconstruction errors.