Cheng-Chieh Cheng1, Lena Franziska Schaefer1, Jeffrey Duryea1, and Bruno Madore1
The ‘dual-echo in the steady state’ (DESS)
sequence is often the method of choice for assessing cartilage damage. A
modified DESS method was developed that provides images of similar quality to
regular DESS while also providing T2 values, a proven biomarker for the early
stages of osteoarthritis. The method exploits the fact that the two signal
pathways sampled in a DESS sequence decay differently during the TR period,
allowing T2 and T2* to be quantified. The resulting method can assess cartilage
volume seemingly as well as regular DESS, while also providing relevant T2
information, without increasing scan time.
