Mina Kim1, Queenie Chan2,
Marina-Portia Anthony1, Kenneth MC Cheung3, Dino
Samartzis3, Tao Chan1, Pek-Lan Khong1
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology,
The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China; 2Philips
Healthcare, Hong Kong; 3Division of Spine Surgery, Department of
Orthopaedics and Traumatology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Detecting
early disc degeneration is of vital importance in order to identify subjects
that are suitable for treatment. However, current diagnostic techniques are
not sensitive to the early stages of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration,
which involves the loss of proteoglycans. Recently, it has been suggested
that glycosaminoglycan content can be quantified by chemical exchange
saturation transfer (gagCEST). In the present work, we conducted gagCEST
imaging for IVDs of human volunteers. Our results show that in vivo gagCEST
quantification is feasible at 3 Tesla and may potentially be a useful
clinical tool in identifying early degenerative changes in the human IVDs.
Keywords