Reversed laminar appearance of articular cartilage by T1‐weighting in 3D fat‐suppressed spoiled gradient recalled echo (SPGR) imaging
Open Access
- 27 August 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Vol. 32 (3), 733-737
- https://doi.org/10.1002/jmri.22278
Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the reversed intensity pattern in the laminar appearance of articular cartilage by 3D fat‐suppressed spoiled gradient recalled echo (FS‐SPGR) imaging in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods: The 3D SPGR experiments were carried out on canine articular cartilage with an echo time (TE) of 2.12 msec, a repetition time (TR) of 60 msec, and various flip angles (5° to 80°). In addition, T1, T2, and T2* in cartilage were imaged and used to explain the laminar appearance in SPGR imaging. Results: The profiles of T2 and T2* in cartilage were similar in shape. However, the T2 values from the multigradient‐echo imaging sequence were about 1/3 of those from single spin‐echo sequences at a pixel resolution of 26 μm. While the laminar appearance of cartilage in spin‐echo imaging is caused mostly by T2‐weighting, the laminar appearance of cartilage in fast imaging (ie, short TR) at the magic angle can have a reversed intensity pattern, which is caused mostly by T1‐weighting. Conclusion: The laminar appearance of articular cartilage can have opposite intensity patterns in the deep part of the tissue, depending on whether the image is T1‐weighted or T2‐weighted. The underlying molecular structure and experimental protocols should both be considered when one examines cartilage images in MRI. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;32:733–737.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Multi-components of T2 relaxation in ex vivo cartilage and tendonJournal of Magnetic Resonance, 2009
- Resolution ‘scaling law’ in MRI of articular cartilageOsteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2007
- Is MRI fulfilling its promise for molecular imaging of cartilage in arthritis?Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2006
- Modifications of orientational dependence of microscopic magnetic resonance imaging T2 anisotropy in compressed articular cartilageJournal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2005
- The structural adaptations in compressed articular cartilage by microscopic MRI (μMRI) T2 anisotropyOsteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2004
- Spatial assessment of articular cartilage proteoglycans with Gd‐DTPA‐enhanced T1 imagingMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2002
- Magic-Angle Effect in Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Articular CartilageInvestigative Radiology, 2000
- Origin of cartilage laminae in MRIJournal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 1997
- Fat-suppressed spoiled GRASS imaging of knee hyaline cartilage: technique optimization and comparison with conventional MR imaging.American Journal of Roentgenology, 1994
- Effects of selective pulses on the measurement of T2 and apparent diffusion in multiecho MRIMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 1987