Elli-Noora Salo1, Mikko J. Nissi1,
Timo Liimatainen2, Olli Grhn3, Silvia Mangia4,
Shalom Michaeli4, Jutta Ellermann4, Miika T. Nieminen5,6
1Department of Physics
& Mathematics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; 2Department
of Biotechnology & Molecular Medicine, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular
Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; 3Department
of Neurobiology, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Medicine, University
of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; 4Center for Magnetic
Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, MN, United States; 5Department
of Medical Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; 6Department
of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
In the present study, numerous parameters (T1, T2, dGEMRIC, continuous wave T1ρ, adiabatic T1ρ, adiabatic T2ρ, Relaxation Along a Fictitious Field (RAFF) and Magnetization Transfer Ratio (MTR)) were measured in constituent-specific enzymatic treatment models of bovine cartilage as well as in human articular cartilage of varying degree of degeneration. Marked differences are revealed in the sensitivity of various MRI parameters to specific tissue constituents. Particularly, novel rotating-frame techniques may sensitively detect changes in the status of cartilage.