Entheses are transition zones connecting flexible tissues such as tendons and ligaments to bone. Conventional MRI sequences detect little or no signal from entheses as a result of their short T2* values. Alternatively, ultrashort echo time MRI (UTE-MRI) with TE<50 μs can be used to image tissues with short T2 and T2* for quantitative assessment. The feasibility of using quantitative UTE-MRI techniques for the evaluation of entheses regions of Achilles tendons in cadaveric ankle specimens was investigated. Using 20 cadaveric ankle specimens, high quality images were obtained with significant entheses signal which enabled excellent UTE-T1, UTE-Adiab-T1r, and UTE-MT model fittings.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.