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Abstract #3304

T2 Relaxation Times in Medial Compartment Osteoarthritis Using 3D Quantitative DESS (QDESS)

Hillary J. Braun1, 2, Bragi Sveinsson1, 3, Marcus T. Alley1, Jason L. Dragoo2, Caroline D. Jordan1, 4, George Pappas2, Brian A. Hargreaves1, Garry E

1Radiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States; 2Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Redwood City, CA, United States; 3Electrical Engineering, Stanford University; 4Bioengineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States


Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, degenerative disease of the whole joint, disabling 10% of the population over 60, and costing as much as $60 billion each year. Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have enabled improved visualization and quantification of early, OA-related changes to articular cartilage. T2 mapping provides an accurate measure of tissue relaxation time, with increased values correlating with changes in cartilage water content and collagen structure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate two-dimensional fast-spin echo (2D-FSE) and quantitative three-dimensional (3D) Dual-Echo Steady State (qDESS) T2 mapping methods for assessing articular knee cartilage in both healthy volunteers and patients with medial compartment OA.