Abstract #3244

You Z, Proulx S, Schwarz E, Totterman S, Kwok W

Despite recent advancement in new therapies for arthritis, there is a lack of longitudinal studies following therapeutic treatment to evaluate the repair response. In this study, we developed a high-resolution MR imaging technique for imaging mouse knee that enables longitudinal studies in mice. We conducted our study on a clinical 3-Tesla system. We designed and built a dedicated RF coil, and developed high resolution pulse sequences to support the high image spatial resolution needed. Imaging tests on normal wild-type mice and transgenic mice with inflammatory arthritis shows that arthritis changes in mouse knee can be clearly visualized by our technique.