Matthew F. Koff1, Lisa A. Fortier2, Scott A. Rodeo3, Parina Shah1, Bethsabe Romero4, Sarah Pownder2, Rebecca Williams5, Suzanne Maher6, Hollis G. Potter1
1Department of Radiology and Imaging - MRI, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States; 2College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States; 3Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States; 4Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States; 5Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States; 6Department of Biomechanics, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States
MRI is commonly used to evaluate repairs of knee meniscus, and ultra-short echo imaging (UTE) allows for a quantitative assessment of the repair site. This study correlated T2* mapping using UTE imaging with quantitative histologic multiphoton microscopy (MPM) methods, and also evaluated the effect of meniscal repair on cartilage T2 values. Meniscal T2* values correlated with MPM measures of collagen content and crosslinking. Increased cartilage T2 values indicated an altered biomechanical loading pattern in the joint. These data lend strong support to the use of T2 and T2* applications to clinical meniscal repair and the assessment of risk for osteoarthritis.