Darstellung des hyalinen Hüftgelenkknorpels mit der MR-Tomographie mittels einer Gradientenecho-Sequenz mit Fett-Wasser-Phasenkohärenz

Abstract

We have been able to display the hyaline hip joint cartilage clearly and with high signal strength in the magnetic resonance image with a gradient echo sequence with 2 different fresh hip specimens from corpses and with 10 healthy test subjects (5 m, 5 f). The chemical shift artifact at the bone-cartilage boundary could be clearly reduced by optimizing the geometrical scanning parameters. A comparison between the cartilage thickness at the head of the femur measured on the anatomical specimen with the thickness measured in the magnetic resonance tomogram showed a good correlation on suitable selection of the read-out gradient. The hyaline cartilage at the head of the femur could be differentiated from the acetabular cartilage in the region of the loading zone by magnetic resonance tomography in all 10 test subjects.

MR Imaging of Patellar Cartilage Degeneration at 0.02 T

“…CSI provides further information on the tissue (2) and has promised good contrast in the characterization of cartilage disorders (3, 6, 11, 12,25), and can also be performed easily at very low field strengths (22). Even CT fails to give details of most such defects (24).…”

“…In addition to standard pulse sequences, chemical shift imaging (CSI) has been used in the investigation of hyaline cartilage at higher field strengths (3,11,12,25). The spin resonance frequency of protons in fat differs from that of protons in water due to the different environments.…”

The morphology of articular cartilage assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

“…In contrast to previous studies which have tried to quantitatively evaluate cartilage thickness in MR images [6,15,16,45], a deviation of the measurements due simply to a non-correspondence of measuring points could be excluded by choosing this volumetric approach. The relatively flat patella allowed the anatomical sections to be cut perp e n d i c u l a r to the whole articular surface.…”

“…Some investigators have claimed that T1-weighting is superior for the determination of cartilage thickness [6; 12], whereas T2-weighting has been advocated for precise delineation of the articular surface [10,39]. Wrazidlo et al [45], Chandani et al [6] and Hodler et al [15] have compared the cartilage thickness apparent in MR images with that in anatomical sections and Johnson et al [16] with that in AP radiographs. However, in these investigations the definition and determination of corresponding measuring points appear to have posed major difficulties and the validity of the measurements was highly unsatisfactory.…”