Quantitative 11.7 T MRI and EPIC-CT Assessment of Cartilage Repair in a Rabbit Glenohumeral Joint Model Following Microfracture and Autologous Matrix Induced Chondrogenesis

Ziying Yin¹, Andrew S. Lee², Geoffrey S. Van Thiel², Vasili Karas², Kristen Hussey², Elizabeth F. Shewman², Dale R. Sumner², Brian J. Cole², Vincent M. Wang², Richard L. Magin¹

Microfracture (MFX) and autologous matrix induced chondrogenesis (AMIC) are two surgical treatments currently used for cartilage defects. There is a growing need to compare the effectiveness of the MFX and AMIC treatments. T1ρ and T2 are highly correlated with the proteoglycan (PG) and collagenous changes that occur in cartilage regeneration, while EPIC (Equilibrium Partitioning of an Ionic Contrast-agent)-CT provides complementary data for cartilage morphology and PG content distribution. The purpose of this study is to examine the regenerative potential of AMIC treatment in comparison to MFX in a rabbit glenohumeral joint repair model using T1ρ, T2, and EPIC-CT.