24-Month Longitudinal Assessment of Cartilage Status in Subjects at Risk of Developing OA: T2 Mapping Following ACL Tear & Reconstruction Surgery

Ashley Williams¹, Constance R. Chu¹

ALC tear (ACLT) is a known risk factor for OA development. Longitudinal T₂ mapping of knee cartilage microstructural status in 16 human ACLT subjects reveals that T₂ values are stable over the first 12 months following ACL reconstruction surgery and then fall between 12 and 24 months post-surgery. Longitudinal T₂ differences were seen in the deep halves of cMFC and cLFC cartilage. Longitudinal differences were not detected in superficial cartilage. Deep T₂ differences between ACLT and asymptomatic subjects suggests that T₂ mapping may be sensitive to subclinical alteration of the subsurface cartilage matrix that is not detected by arthroscopic evaluation.