Demonstration of Striations in Articular Cartilage at High Field

Paul A. DiCamillo¹, Nikolaus M. Szeverenyi¹, Sheronda Statum¹, Graeme M. Bydder²

Magic angle effects in articular cartilage have been studied extensively. The lamellar appearance of articular cartilage with signal decreasing from superficial to deep is seen at the lower end of the femur and in the tibial plateau when patients are examined with B₀ parallel to the long axis of the body. However, equally striking in articular cartilage is the appearance of vertical striations, which are orthogonal to the layers described above. In contrast to studies performed at 1.5 and 3T, striations have not been observed or commented on in the very detailed studies performed at high field (7T) over a decade or more in which magic angle effects were identified as the source of the lamellar structure seen in cartilage. In order to determine whether or not vertical striations can be seen at high field, studies of articular cartilage were performed at 3T and 11.7T.