Evaluation of Articular Cartilage in Patients with Osteochondrosis Dissecans by Morphological MRI and Quantitative T2 and T2* Mapping at 3.0 Tesla

Sebastian Apprich¹, Wolfgang Marik¹, Gtz Hannes Welsch^1,2, Marius Mayerhhoefer¹, Klaus Friedrich¹, Siegfried Trattnig¹

Objective was to compare T2/T2* relaxation times from patients with osteochondrosis disscans of the talus and healthy volunteers at 3T. The MR protocol consisted of a PD TSE sequence, and a 3D isotropic TrueFISP sequence. T2 relaxation times were obtained from a multi-echo spin-echo sequence, T2* maps were reconstructed from a sagittal GRE sequence. ROI analysis revealed significant higher T2/T2* values in patients with OCD compared to healthy volunteers. Quantitative T2/T2* mapping is a promising method to provide further information about the physiological status of the cartilage overlying an OCD and may improve the radiological staging.