Gerd Melkus1, James Hawkins1, Joseph Schooler1, Xiaojuan Li1, Sharmila Majumdar1
1Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
3D T1rho dispersion measurements using different spin-lock field strengths (B1 = 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6 kHz) and T2 mapping were performed in vivo on the knee joint of male Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs at two different ages (3 months and 13 months) at 7T. While T1rho of the muscle and cartilage increases with increasing B1-field in all four animals, T1rho values differ between age groups. There is the evidence that a more sensitive interpretation of the cartilage status can be achieved when higher B1 -fields (4 kHz or above) are applied for in vivo T1rho mapping.