Electronic Poster Session - Musculoskeletal
  Muscle 3249-3272
  Technical MSK 3273-3296
  Cartilage, Menisci, Ligaments & Tendon 3297-3319
  Spine/Bone 3320-3343
     

Muscle
Click on to view the abstract pdf and click on to view the video presentation. (Not all presentations are available.)
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Exhibition Hall  10:00 - 11:00

  Computer #  
3249.   1 Visualization of exercise-induced activation of rotator cuff muscles using muscle functional MRI
Noriyuki Tawara1, Osamu Nitta2, Hironobu Kuruma2, Mamoru Niitsu3, Naoyuki Tamura4, Hideyuki Takahashi4, Atsuto Hoshikawa1, Kohei Nakajima1, Toru Okuwaki1, and Takashi Kawahara1
1Department of Sports Medicine, Japan Institute of Sports Scinences, Tokyo, Japan, 2Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan, 3Department of Radiology, Saitama Medcical University, Saitama, Japan, 4Department of Sports Science, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan

 
Exercise-induced muscle activity is essential in sports medicine and rehabilitation medicine. MRI can evaluate muscle activity; T2 of the exercised muscle is increased compared to that of rested muscle. Additionally, strengthening of the rotator cuff muscles is one of the most integral parts of a rehabilitation program for athletes with shoulder injuries who must perform throwing motions during sports. Therefore, evaluation of muscle activity using T2–weighted MRI will facilitate identification the most effective exercises for strengthening the rotator cuff. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the visualization of rotator cuff’s activity induced by acute exercise.

 
3250.   2 The BOLD effect in upper leg muscles from leg extension exercise using an MRI compatible ergometer
Alyaa H. Elzibak1,2, Alireza Akbari2,3, and Michael D. Noseworthy2,4
1Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 2Imaging Research Centre, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 3School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 4School of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

 
Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast has been used to investigate the response of calf muscles to exercise. Since muscle biopsies are performed on the quadriceps, this work aimed at evaluating the recruitment of the four heads of the quadriceps femoris in exercise. Using an MRI compatible ergometer, BOLD images were acquired of the midthigh of healthy subjects. The protocol consisted of 1-minute of rest, followed by 2-minutes of intense supine thigh extension and ended with 3-minutes of recovery. Analysis revealed non-uniform activation of the muscles, with the rectus femoris and vastus intermedius playing the greatest role in the exercise.

 
3251.   3 Diffusion Property Differences of the Lower Leg Musculature between Athletes and Non-Athletes using 1.5T MRI
Yoshikazu Okamoto1, Shintaro Mori2, and Yuka Kujiraoka3
1University of Tsukuba Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, 2University of Tsukuba, Japan, 3Tsukuba Memorial Hopital, Japan

 
FA, the three eigenvalues, and ADC in the gastrocnemius medialis (GCM), gastrocnemius lateralis (GCL), soleus (SOL), and anterior tibialis (AT) muscles between 12 athletes (Group A) and 11 non-athletes (Group B), and between the right and left sides, were compared using two-factor fractional ANOVA. All three eigenvalues and ADC were lower in Group A than in Group B with statistically significant differences in all muscles with a P-value of <0.01. Results might be due to an increase of density of myofilaments in the intracellular space, and deformation of the cell induced by enlargement of extracellular components.

 
3252.   4 Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) in healthy skeletal muscle pre- and post-exercise
Eric E. Sigmund1, Steven Baete1, Gene Y. Cho1, Dabang Sui1, Thompson Ukpebor1, Kecheng Liu2, Jane Kwon1, Kellyanne McGorty1, and Jenny Bencardino1
1Radiology, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, 2Siemens Medical Systems

 
Skeletal muscle pathologies can have both microstructural and microvascular underpinnings to which diffusion-weighted imaging can be made sensitive through the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) approach. We performed IVIM in healthy calf muscles at 3 T both before and after treadmill exertion, and evaluated the biomarkers of tissue diffusivity, perfusion fraction, and pseudodiffusivity in 7 different muscle compartments and three orthogonal directions. The largest and most significant changes occurred for perfusion fraction, which isotropically increased by ~50%. Results are discussed in the context of muscle physiology and the sensitivities of diffusion contrast.

 
3253.   5 Dynamic 3D imaging of phosphocreatine recovery at 3T and 7T
Prodromos Parasoglou1, Ding Xia1, Gregory Chang1, and Ravinder R Regatte1
1Center of Biomedical Imaging, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, United States

 
Dynamic measurements of phosphocreatine (PCr) recovery after exercise (plantar flexion) have been used to probe the capacity of mitochondria to carry out oxidative metabolism. Although valuable information can be obtained by unlocalized MRS methods, spatial mapping of PCr recovery can provide additional understanding of the patterns of disease propagation. Localized spectroscopy methods (such as chemical shift imaging) are prohibitively slow for such studies and result in coarse spatial resolution. In this work, spectral selective 3D-turbo spin echo methods are employed to measure the recovery rates of the entire volume of the calf muscle at 3T and 7T.

 
3254.   6 Rapid estimation of muscle transverse relaxation time (T2) based on ultrafast magnetic resonance imaging at 3.0 Tesla
Noriyuki Tawara1, Katsuya Maruyama2, Mamoru Niitsu3, Naoyuki Tamura4, Hideyuki Takahashi4, Atsuto Hoshikawa1, Kohei Nakajima1, Toru Okuwaki1, and Takashi Kawahara1
1Department of Sports Medicine, Japan Institute of Sports Scinences, Tokyo, Japan, 2Siemens Japan, Tokyo, Japan, 3Department of Radiology, Saitama Medcical University, Saitama, Japan, 4Department of Sports Science, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan

 
Exercise-induced muscle activity is essential in sports medicine and rehabilitation medicine. MRI can evaluate muscle activity; transverse relaxation time (T2) of the exercised muscle is increased compared to that of rested muscle. Therefore, evaluation of muscle activity using T2–weighted MRI will facilitate identification the most effective exercises for strengthening the each muscle. In order to reduce the acquisition time of muscle T2 calculating, the aim of his study was to assess the pulse sequences for T2 measurement in 3.0T by comparing it with multiple spin echo (MSE). In particular, this study was verified about SE-EPI and DESS.

 
3255.   7 Intra and inter-subject reproducibility of fully adiabatic 31P GOIA-1D-ISIS/2D-CSI (goISICS) in calf muscle at 7T.
Marek Chmelik1, Ivica Just Kukurova1,2, Stephan Gruber1, Martin Krššák3, Ladislav Valkovic1, Siegfried Trattnig1, and Wolfgang Bogner1
1MR Centre of Excellence, Dept. Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 2Department of NMR and MS, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia, 3Department of Internal Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

 
As recently described 31P 2D-CSI based on GOIA-1D-ISIS/2D-CSI (goISICS) enables fully adiabatic acquisition with minimal chemical shift displacement error at 7T. The purpose of this study was to analyze intra- and inter-subject variability of goISICS in the calf muscle at 7T. Both, inter and intra-subject reproducibility measurements showed comparable high quality spectra in a distance of 2.5 cm and 5 cm from the surface coil and slightly lower quality in a distance of 7.5cm.The reproducibility was high for pH, γ-NTP/PCr , α-NTP/PCr and Pi/PCr and lower for β-NTP/PCr, PDE/PCr and PME/PCr.

 
3256.   8 Quantitative Magnetization Transfer with Fat Component in Human Muscles
Ke Li1,2, Richard D Dortch1,2, Daniel F Gochberg1,2, Seth A Smith1,2, Bruce Damon1,2, and Jane H Park1,3
1Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, 2Department of Radiology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, 3Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States

 
The Quantitative magnetization transfer (qMT) yields parameters that describes the interactions between free and macromolecular protons in biophysical environments. A selective inversion recovery (SIR) technique was developed to determine the qMT parameters. However, the estimation of parameters based on the bi-exponential model may be biased due to the existence of a fat component. In this work, simulations were performed, by using synthesized phantom data. It was predicted that the two key parameters of interest - pm/pf and kmf, are biased with varied fat component sizes. This prediction was further verified in human muscle data with and without fat suppression pulse.

 
3257.   9 Non-Invasive Quantification of Fatty Infiltration of Lumbar Para-Spinal Muscles: Comparison of Different Acquisition and Correction Techniques
Daniel Nanz1, Michael Alexander Fischer1, Roman Guggenberger1, Timo Schirmer2, and Gustav Andreisek1
1Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2GE Global Research, General Electric

 
Para-spinal muscles of patients with chronic lower back pain are known to gradually degenerate by infiltration of fat, which has been demonstrated by single-voxel spectroscopic fat-signal-fraction quantification. Single-voxel spectroscopy suffers from several disadvantages such as a sampling problem similar to biopsy or comparatively long acquisition times. This study investigated, to what degree newly developed imaging-based fat-signal quantification methods could yield results comparable to those obtained with single-voxel spectroscopy, but in large three-dimensional imaging volumes that can be scanned in a minute or less acquisition time. The 3D imaging sequences offer fat-water separating image reconstruction with varying corrections for quantification.

 
3258.   
10 Quantitative evaluation of fat infiltration in the rotator cuff muscles using chemical shift-based water/fat separation
Dimitrios C Karampinos1, Lorenzo Nardo1, Julio Carballido-Gamio1, Ann Shimakawa2, Benjamin C Ma3, Thomas M Link1, and Roland Krug1
1Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, 2Global Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States, 3Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

 
The evaluation of shoulder muscle fat infiltration is important for the clinical management of patients with rotator cuff injuries. Goutallier’s classification of T1-weighted or proton-density weighted images has been traditionally used to evaluate fat infiltration in the shoulder muscles. However, this technique is semi-quantitative and therefore subjective and cannot track small fat infiltration changes. Chemical shift-based water/fat separation techniques have been recently implemented to measure fat content in skeletal muscle. In the present work, a chemical shift-based water fat separation is applied to the shoulder musculature of 31 subjects and the derived mean fat fraction quantitative measures are compared with Goutallier’s classification.

 
3259.   
11 Investigation of Restricted Diffusion Behaviour of Intramyocellular Lipids in Skeletal Muscle
Peng Cao1,2, Zhongwei Qiao1,2, Anna M. Wang1,2, Shujuan Fan1,2, Victor B. Xie1,2, Jian Yang1,3, and Ed X. Wu1,2
1Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, 2Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, 3Medical Imaging Center of the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi Province, China

 
In skeletal muscle, lipids are stored as intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) inside muscle cells and extramyocellular lipid (EMCL) in large adipocytes. IMCL exists in form of small spherical droplets that are often found next to mitochondria. In this study, we aimed to characterize the lipid diffusion within IMCL droplet. Our experimental results demonstrated that small IMCL microstructure leads to highly restricted lipid diffusion in IMCL droplet. Such IMCL diffusion characterization may provide a sensitive maker to probe the IMCL droplet microstructure, leading to a potentially valuable tool for investigating IMCL droplet dynamics and metabolism in vivo.

 
3260.   12 A small volatile bacterial molecule triggers oxidative stress, apoptosis insulin resistance and concurs with mitochondrial dysfunction in murine skeletal muscle
Valeria Righi1,2, Caterina Constantinou3, Nikolaos Psychogios1,2, Julie Wilhelmy4, Michael Mindrinos4, Laurence G. Rahme3, and Aria A. Tzika1,2
1NMR Surgical Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Burns Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 2Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 3Molecular Surgery Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Burn Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 4Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States

 
We hypothesized that a volatile aromatic molecule, 2-amino acetophenone (2-AA), produced by the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa endangers the host. We used a novel high-resolution magic-angle-spinning (HRMAS), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics method, in vivo 31P NMR and a whole-genome expression approach to identify the effects of 2AA on murine skeletal muscle. We observed oxidative stress apoptosis and insulin resistance status associated with a mitochondrial dysfunction molecular signature in skeletal muscle following 2-AA treatment, which may be linked to 2-AA’s ability to promote bacterial phenotypic changes associated with chronic inflammatory disease and infection.

 
3261.   13 Assessment of Bone Marrow and Muscle Lipids in Acromegaly Using 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Hamed Mojahed1, Pamela Freda2, Christina Read3, Alex Dresner4, Truman R Brown5, and Fernando Arias-Mendoza3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States, 2Department of Medicine, Columbia University,3Department of Radiology, Columbia University, 4Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, United States, 5Center for Advanced Imaging Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States

 
Intra-myocellular lipid (IMCL) and diaphysis lipids of mixed sex acromegaly patients (including one outlier patient suspected of having a muscular degenerative disease) were studied with proton single voxel MR spectroscopy in a 1.5T Philips system. The IMCL normalized to total methyl and methylene lipid groups in diaphysis correlated with IMCL normalized to muscle water in all of the patients. However, excluding the outlier patient made the correlation more reliable. Hence studying muscle metabolites may be performed by normalizing to the bone marrow lipids but special caution must be exercised when studying patients with muscular degenerative diseases.

 
3262.   14 Reference values for quantitative analysis of Gd-contrast enhancement kinetics in skeletal muscle NMR imaging.
Decorte Nicolas1, Laurie Cabrol1, Mathilde Drouet1, Noura Azzabou1, and Pierre G. Carlier1
1Institute of Myology, CEA, Paris, 75013, France

 
Abnormal skeletal muscle enhancement post Gd-contrast agent IV injection is observed in many conditions (inflammation, dystrophy, fibrosis). Reference values for normal muscles were not available, which made impossible classification and decision based on quantitative analysis. These benchmarks are provided here, with data from twelve healthy volunteers, six male, six female, 22-67 year old, having received an IV injection of Gd-DOTA. The time-courses of thigh muscle signal enhancement were analyzed both phenomenologically (time to peak, maximum relative enhancement, decay time constant) and analytically (extracellular volume fraction, rate constant and transfer constant).

 
3263.   15 Combined IDEAL and Diffusion imaging to characterize Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy
R G Hernandez-Salazar1, S Vargas-Cañas2, S Hidalgo3, O Marrufo1, S Solis4, A Rodriguez5, and R D Delgado-Hernandez1
1Neuroradiology Dep, INNN-MVS, Mexico, DF, Mexico, 2Neurology Dep, INNN-MVS, Mexico, DF, Mexico, 3Phys Dep, UAM Iztapalapa, Mexico, DF, Mexico,4Phys Dep, FC UNAM, Mexico, DF, Mexico, 5Electrical Engineering Dep, UAM Iztapalapa, Mexico, DF, Mexico

 
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are a group of autosomal dominantly or recessive inherited muscular dystrophies that also present with primary proximal (limb-girdle) muscle weakness, involving the shoulder and pelvic girdles, distinct phenotypic or clinical characteristics are recognized. MRI has great potential for non-invasive characterization of muscle properties in LGMDs utilizing techniques such as Dixon-based imaging for fat-water quantification and diffusion MRI for probing muscle microstructure. The aim of this study was to compare quantitative MRI measurements from Dixon-based imaging and DWI in the thigh muscles of adults with LGMDs and healthy volunteers.

 
3264.   16 Automated muscle fat segmentation in DTI data of post-polio patients based on parameter distirbutions
Martijn Froeling1, Gustav J Strijkers2, Frans Nollet3, Marianne de Visser4, Klaas Nicolay2, and Aart J Nederveen1
1Department of Radiology, Academical Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2Biomedical NMR, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Academical Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands,4Department of Neurology, Academical Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands

 
In DTI of skeletal muscle in post-polio patients one would like to make a distinction between healthy and affected muscles and also investigate if the fat-infiltrated muscles show organized structures and thus differs from the subcutaneous fat. The aim of this work was therefore to develop a fully automated algorithm for segmentation of healthy and fat-infiltrated muscle based on the distribution of the diffusion tensor imaging parameters.

 
3265.   17 Magnetic Resonance Electromyography (MR-EMG)
Francesco Santini1, Michele Pansini2, Tilman Schubert2, and Oliver Bieri1
1Division Radiological Physics - Institute of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland, 2Institute of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

 
In this work, we present a method for accurate, quantitative measurement of muscle contraction with a temporal resolution of few milliseconds, therefore allowing the direct assessment of the reaction time of the muscle fibers, the contraction speed and the displacement.

 
3266.   18 The correlation between pennation angle and the image quality of skeletal muscle fiber tractography using the deterministic diffusion tensor imaging
Yoshikazu Okamoto1, Toru Okamoto2, and Yuka Kujiraoka2
1University of Tsukuba Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, 2Tsukuba memorial hospital

 
Fourteen volunteers were scanned using deterministic diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and six fiber tractographs were constructed from a unilateral calf of each volunteer and the gfiber densityh was calculated in each of the tractographs. The average pennation angle (AVPA) and angle variation (SDPA) were also measured for each muscle by ultrasonography (US) in the same region as the MRI scan. For all eighty-four tractography images, the correlation coefficient between the fiber density and AVPA or SDPA were well correlated (R= 0,715 and -0.472, respectively). Our data suggest that a larger, more variable pennation angle resulted in worse skeletal muscle tractography.

 
3267.   19 DTI and Fiber Tracking Determined Muscle Abnormalities in an Undiagnosed Myopathic Patient
Ke Li1,2, Joseph W Huston3, Nathan Bryant1,2, and Jane H Park1,4
1Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, 2Department of Radiology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, 3School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, 4Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States

 
In this work, MRI studies of thigh muscles in an undiagnosed myopathic patient and two healthy controls are presented. No significant differences were observed in T1- and T2-weighted and STIR images or in T1 and T2 values. However, obvious abnormalities in fiber density and fiber directions were revealed with DTI-based fiber tracking in the patient�s muscles. This indicates that fiber tracking is a powerful method for identifying muscle fiber abnormalities that correlate with weakness and fatigue. This technique will promote accurate clinical evaluation of myopathy and proper assignment of therapuetic procedures for muscle rehabilitation.

 
3268.   20 DTI and Fiber Tracking Study of the Effects of Aging on Musculoskeletal Architectural and Functional Parameters
Sanghamitra Sinha1, and Ryuta Kinugasa2,3
1University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States, 2Kanagawa University, Kanagawa, Japan, 3RIKEN, Saitama, Japan

 
Muscle force output is affected severely by the aging process through its dependency on various musculoskeletal (MSK) architectural and physiological factors. In six senior and six young subjects, MSK diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and fiber tractography was used to non-invasively investigate age-related microarchitectural changes in muscle compartments of the lower leg. Analysis of the DTI parameters revealed that lower case Greek lambda3 decreased significantly with age in the plantarflexors. FA increased with age in all muscles. Finally, a decrease of MG fiber pennation angle by ~30% with age provided a partial explanation for the significant loss of muscle force output in the elderly.

 
3269.   21 Combining MR-Elastography and diffusion tensor imaging to measure the in vivo anisotropic elasticity of skeletal muscles of Mdx and healthy mice.
Eric Chuan Qin1,2, Lauriane Juge3, Simon Lambert3, Ralph Sinkus3, and Lynne Bilston1,2
1Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia, 2Prince of Wales clinical school of medicine, UNSW, Randwick, NSW, Australia, 3INSERM U773/Hôpital Beaujon, Centre de Recherche Biomédicale Bichat Beaujon (CRB3), Clichy, France

 
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a high incidence hereditary muscular disease that weakens the muscles which can result in premature death. Currently the gold standard in detecting abnormal changes in muscle tissues is muscle biopsy, which is invasive and painful. In this study we used a novel imaging technique which combines diffusion tensor imaging with magnetic resonance elastography to investigate the anisotropic shear moduli of the skeletal muscles of Mdx mice and wild type mice in vivo. This technique can provide additional parameters in detecting abnormal changes in muscular diseases, and allow early diagnosis and monitoring of such diseases.

 
3270.   22 MR elastography thigh muscle data base to detect age and gender related changes
Laëtitia Debernard1, Ludovic Robert2, Fabrice Charleux2, and Sabine F Bensamoun1
1Laboratoire de Biomécanique et Bioingénierie, UMR CNRS 6600, 60200, Compiègne, France, 2ACRIM, Polyclinique Saint-Côme, 60200, Compiègne, France
 
Age-related muscle changes have a huge impact on daily life activities in elderly people, such as gaiting, standing up, sitting down or stair climbing. Consequently, the development of adequate muscle rehabilitation programs will provide the elderly with more independence and better life. Thus, the objective of this study is to develop a MR elastography data base to measure age (20 to 80 years) and gender related changes on the passive and active muscles of the thigh. Additional measurements were also performed on the subcutaneous adipose tissue of the same subjects to elucidate the idea of fatty tissue infiltration with age.

 
3271.   23 Age effects on the mechanical gain system of the skeletal muscle
Ryuta Kinugasa1,2, Ali Moghadasi3, and Shantanu Sinha3
1Kanagawa University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, 2RIKEN, Wako, Saitama, Japan, 3University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States

 
Older adults have a reduced ability in the translation of work from muscle fascicle shortening to the movement of the aponeurosis. Such non-invasive, high-SNR, large Field-of-view imaging with VE-PC techniques allow determination of physiological, clinically significant parameters with good accuracy and reliability

 
3272.   24 Postmortal 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the skeletal muscle – PCr/ATP ratio as a forensic tool?
Jin Yamamura1, Tony Schmidt1, Roland Fischer2, Jerry Wang3, and Gerhard Adam1
1Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, 2Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, Oakland, California, United States, 3Department of Radiology, Children's Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States

 
MRS of the muscle in forensic medicine
 
Electronic Poster Session - Musculoskeletal

Technical MSK
Click on to view the abstract pdf and click on to view the video presentation. (Not all presentations are available.)
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Exhibition Hall  11:00 - 12:00

  Computer #  
3273.   1 Open Phased Array Knee Coil for Dynamic MSK MRI
Bing Keong Li1, Ewald Weber1, Fabian Bartel1, Dru Morris2, Craig Engstrom1, Adnan Trakic1, Hua Wang1, Ben Kelley2, and Stuart Crozier1
1School of ITEE, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 2X Radiology Australia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

 
A prototype 3-element open phased array knee coil for dynamic musculoskeletal (MSK) MR imaging of the knee was constructed and tested in a 1.5T Siemens Espree system. The acquired MR images of the knee joint, flexed to a variety of angles and also at the normal relaxed position, show that the open design concept is feasible and can facilitate diagnostic and functional assessment of knee injuries and pathology.

 
3274.   2 Multi-Directional MSK Phased Array Wrist Coil
Bing Keong Li1, Ewald Weber1, Fabian Bartel1, Dean Hunt2, Craig Engstrom1, Hua Wang1, Adnan Trakic1, Tim Demetriades2, and Stuart Crozier1
1School of ITEE, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 2X Radiology Australia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

 
A prototype 1.5 T receive-only 3-element multi-directional MSK phased array wrist coil that is capable to maintain its performance even when it is angulated from +/-55° to B0 was constructed and successfully tested. The ability to angulate the coil through a wide range of angles, allows positioning the coil in the center of the DSV with the possibility for relaxed overhead positioning of the wrist through “horizontal flexion” of the elbow. With this setup, high quality wrist images can be acquired and patient comfort can be achieved.

 
3275.   3 Multi-Purpose, Flexible Transceiver Coil for Musculoskeletal MR Imaging at 7.0 Tesla
Abdullah Ok1, Jan Rieger1,2, Celal Özerdem1, and Thoralf Niendorf1,3
1Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.), Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany, 2MRI.TOOLS GmbH, Berlin, Germany,3Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charité Campus Buch, Berlin, Germany

 
A flexible transceiver coil was designed to be used in musculoskeletal imaging at 7.0 T. Phantom studies showed an average SNR increase of 14%. The coil's performance was then evaluated in vivo.

 
3276.   
4 MR artifacts: Recognition, Underlying Principles and Remedies in Musculoskeletal and Body Imaging
Hwayoung Kate Lee1, Patrick Pierce1, Carol Finn2, Martin Raymond Prince2,3, and Stacy Smith1
1Department of Radiology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States, 2Department of Radiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, United States, 3Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States

 
Recognition of MR artifacts and familiarity with them are crucial for proper image interpretation and correct diagnosis. A clear understanding of MR parameters and trade-offs is essential to optimizing image quality. This educational exhibit aims to familiarize radiologists with a spectrum of MR artifacts (physiological, inherent physical and mechanical) that can occur in musculoskeletal and body imaging, discuss underlying scientific principles leading to artifacts and provide remedies to reduce artifacts without significantly increasing scan time or compromising signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise, resolution and field-of-view. Additional strategies to take advantage of artifacts and improve imaging quality will be discussed.

 
3277.   5 MRI near Metallic Implants using a MAVRIC-SEMAC Hybrid at 3T
Kathryn Stevens1, Bao Do1, Luis Gutierrez1, Pauline Worters1, Brian Hargreaves1, Kevin Koch2, and Garry Gold1
1Radiology, Stanford Medical Center, Stanford, CA, United States, 2GE Healthcare

 
While MRI of patients with orthopedic hardware is often limited by susceptibility artifacts, several methods have recently been developed to dramatically reduce these artifacts. We describe the initial clinical experience with Hybrid at 3.0T in patients with spinal hardware, hip replacements, femoral pins/rods and ACL reconstruction. Imaging around metal implants with Hybrid resulted in a dramatic decrease in image artifacts compared to conventional 2D FSE, allowing improved visualization of periprosthetic tissues, despite longer scan times and reduced spatial resolution.

 
3278.   6 Evaluation of a protocol for metal artifact minimization in MR examination of patients with hip prosthesis
Gunilla Maria Muller1, Bjorn Lundin2, Thord von Schewelov3, Markus F Muller4, Olle Ekberg5, and Sven Mansson6
1Skane University Hospital, Radilogy, Malmo, Skane, Sweden, 2Radiology, Skane University Hospital, Lund, Sweden, 3Orthopedic Surgery, Skane University Hospital, Malmo, Sweden, 4Radiology, Skane University Hospital, Malmo, Sweden, 5Radiology, Skane University Hospital, Malmo, Skane, Sweden, 6Radiation Physics, Skane University Hospital, Malmo, Sweden

 
Sequences reducing metal artifacts in patients with hip prosthesis enable MRI visualization of periprosthetic tissue, thereby allowing early diagnosis of complications.

 
3279.   
7 Spectrally selective 3D-TSE imaging of phosphocreatine in the human calf muscle at 3T
Prodromos Parasoglou1, Ding Xia1, and Ravinder R Regatte1
1Center of Biomedical Imaging, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, United States

 
Localized 31P-MRS methods can provide quantitative information for the concentration of several metabolites in the human skeletal muscle. However, these methods suffer from long acquisition times and coarse resolution, limiting their potential use in the clinical setting. Imaging of a single metabolite can be achieved at a much higher spatial and temporal resolution, with the use of spectrally selective imaging methods. In this study, we report the implementation of a 3D spectrally selective turbo spin echo sequence to image phosphocreatine in the human calf muscle with high SNR on a 3T clinical system in a clinically feasible scan time.

 
3280.   8 Determination of oxygen consumption in calf muscle through combined ASL perfusion and T2 oxymetry measurements at 3.0 T.
Nicolas Decorte1, Ericky Caldas de Almeida Araujo1, Alexandre Vignaud2, and Pierre G. Carlier1
1Institute of Myology, AIM and CEA, Paris, 75013, France, 2Siemens Healthcare, Saint Denis, France

 
Functional NMR imaging, among its many variations, offers the possibility to measure non-invasively muscle perfusion by arterial spin labeling (ASL) and blood oxygenation via the T2 dependence on haemoglobin saturation. In this study, we show that muscle ASL and T2 determination of arterial and venous blood may be combined to calculate muscle oxygen consumption non-invasively and with a temporal resolution compatible with physiological studies.

 
3281.   9 The effect of tensor estimation methods on DTI parameters and fiber tractography in skeletal muscle
Martijn Froeling1,2, Aart J Nederveen1, Klaas Nicolay2, and Gustav J Strijkers2
1Department of Radiology, Academical Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2Biomedical NMR, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands

 
In this study we explored the effect of different tensor estimation methods on diffusion parameters in muscle DTI using simulations and acquired data.

 
3282.   10 Q-space Analysis of Diffusion Weighted Image of the Vertebral Bone Marrow
Saori Watanabe1, Tosiaki Miyati1, Risa Yorimitsu1, Hirohito Kan2, Syuya Fujihara3, Harumasa Kasai2, Nobuyuki Arai2, Masaki Hara2, and Yuta Shibamoto2
1Division of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan, 2Department of Radiology, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan, 3School of Health Sciences, College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

 
Diffusion analysis with the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) enabled to obtain information of bone marrow composition. However, it is appropriate that the unit of water molecular displacement in the bone marrow is gƒÊmh than gmm2/sech of ADC. Therefore, we evaluated water molecular displacement in the vertebral bone marrow using q-space analysis to provide the detailed information on vertebral bone marrow. Correlation of displacement vs BMD was greater than that of ADC vs BMD. Water molecular displacement analysis with q-space makes it noninvasively possible to obtain more detailed information of changing bone marrow composition, and metabolism.

 
3283.   11 Clinical application to bone health assessment of a new MR-based technique enabling quantitative measurement of trabecular bone structure
Juliet Compston1, Amanda Cox2, Michael Stone3, Jane Turton3, Irene Debiram1, and Kristin James2
1School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2Acuitas Medical, Swansea, United Kingdom, 3Llandough Hospital, Cardiff, United Kingdom

 
A new magnetic resonance-based technique, designed to measure biologic texture too fine to be resolved by conventional MR imaging, was evaluated for its ability to assess bone health through quantification of trabecular bone structure in the L1 vertebrae of post-menopausal women. The technique provides a measure of the characteristic distance between trabecular elements by signal analysis of a finely sampled one-dimensional, spatially encoded echo from a selectively excited internal volume. In this study we were able to separate a cohort of healthy women from a group comprised of osteopenic and osteoporotic women with 85% certainty.

 
3284.   12 Dynamic 3D imaging of the free moving knee using a retrospective self-gated sequence with a quasi-random sampling scheme
Daniel Ludwig Weber1,2, Stefan Weick2, Markus Lototchi2, Sairamesh Raghuraman2,3, Titus Lanz3, Daniel Haddad1,2, and Peter Michael Jakob1,2
1MRB Research Center for Magnetic Resonance Bavaria e.V., Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany, 2Department of Experimental Physics 5 (Biophysics), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany, 3RAPID Biomedical GmbH, Rimpar, Bavaria, Germany

 
Dynamic 3D imaging may provide valuable additional information in knee injuries and increases specificity of the diagnosis. A motion device was used allowing an active and thus physiological movement of the knee. For the correlation between the motion and the MR acquisition, a retrospective self-gated 3D sequence with a quasi-random sampling scheme together with a 16 channel U-shaped phased array coil was used. The upward and downward motions were differentiated using the derivative of the DC-signal. Six 3D datasets (corresponding to motion states) were reconstructed retrospectively. For the reconstruction of the images, adaptive combining and iterative GRAPPA was applied.

 
3285.   13 Patellar maltracking is prevalent among patellofemoral pain subjects with patella alta: an upright, weightbearing MRI study
Saikat Pal1, Thor Besier2, Michael Fredericson1, Gary Beaupre3, Scott Delp1, and Garry Gold1
1Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States, 2University of Auckland, New Zealand, 3VA Palo Alto, Palo Alto, California, United States

 
Patellofemoral (PFP) pain is common. Although there are several potential causes, patella alta (greater than normal patella height relative to the tibia or femur) is considered a pre-disposing factor in patellar maltracking and pain. However, evidence supporting a relationship between patella alta and maltracking is limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between patella height and patellar tracking in pain-free control and PFP subjects using novel upright, weightbearing MRI. We observed significantly greater patella height in maltracking PFP subjects. This study overcomes a critical barrier in understanding the mechanisms for PFP by providing new evidence relating patellar maltracking to patella height.

 
3286.   14 Accelerated 3D radial short echo-time MRI of the knee using compressed sensing
Sairam Geethanath1, Steen Moeller2, and Vikram D Kodibagkar1,3
1Joint program in biomedical engineering, UT Arlington/UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States, 2University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 3School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States

 
Concurrent Dephasing and excitation (CODE) is a novel pulse sequence which facilitates imaging of short T2 components. Currently, exquisite 3D images can be acquired within minutes but imaging dynamics of the knee and T2 exchange contrast agents, would require an even faster imaging scheme. The application of compressed sensing to accelerate CODE MRI has been demonstrated on 5 knee data sets for acceleration factors of 2, 3, 4 and 5. Compressed sensing based reconstruction of the MR volume shows high fidelity with lower noise as quantified by root-mean-square-error with respect to the original full k-space reconstruction.

 
3287.   15 7 Tesla MRI of the hip joint in patients with avascular necrosis
Oliver Kraff1,2, Stephan Orzada1,2, Mark E Ladd1,2, Stefan Landgraeber3, Thomas C Lauenstein2, and Jens M Theysohn2
1Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany, 2Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany, 3Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany

 
In this study, various gradient (MEDIC, DESS) and spin echo (PD, T2, T1, STIR) sequences of a typical, clinical examination protocol were compared to stage patients with avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head at 7T. Five healthy volunteers and five patients with AVN were imaged at 7T and 3T. While for gradient echo images, overall image quality was comparable to 3T imaging, STIR images were impaired by variations in signal homogeneity and fat suppression.

 
3288.   
16 Using the ionic x-ray contrast agent Hexabrix as a specific marker for cartilage glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content via chemical exchange saturation transfer imaging at 3 Tesla
Benjamin Schmitt1, Toshiyuki Shiomi2, Siegfried Trattnig3, Monika Egerbacher4, and Pavol Szomolanyi3
1Centre for High-Field MR, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 2Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 3Medical University of Vienna,4University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

 
The study was performed to assess if the ionic X-ray contrast agent Hexabrix® can be used as a specific marker of cartilage GAG content via CEST MRI. The agent is used in x-ray arthrography to assess GAG content through the fixed charge density of GAG. Samples from porcine knees with and without enzymatic degrading of cartilage were immersed in Hexabrix® solutions at different concentrations, and examined with CEST MRI at 3 T. The results show CEST signal enhancements in cartilage with low GAG content, which can be attributed to accumulation of contrast agent, demonstrating the potential of the technique.

 
3289.   17 A histogram-based two-point Dixon fat-water separation method
Junmin Liu1, David W Holdsworth1,2, and Maria Drangova1,3
1Imaging Lab, Robarts Reseach Institution, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, 2Department of Surgery, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, 3Department of Medical Biophysics, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

 
A new two-point Dixon fat water separation method is presented to address the concern that the phase-shift (Δθ) between fat and water in the out-of-phase complex images may not be exactly equal to π. The method derives Δθ from the histogram distribution of the phase differences between the unwrapped data sets by fitting a double Gaussian function first, selecting a threshold value, then separating fat and water. In vivo 3D experimental results of a knee demonstrate that the proposed technique offers robust fat-water separation for two-point Dixon acquisitions, despite the fact that Δθ/π was 0.92 ± 0.03.

 
3290.   18 Optimal weighting factors of the weighted subtraction in the Three-dimensional Ultrashort echo time imaging of the short T2 contrast tissue in the knee
Young Han Lee1, Ho-Taek Song1, Jin-suck Suh1, and Vladimir Jellus2
1Radiology, Severance hospital, Yonsei Univ. College of Medicine, Seoul, Seoul, Korea, 2Siemens AG, Healthcare Sector, Erlangen, Germany

 
The 3D UTE provides imaging of short T2 tissues which cannot be visualized on the conventional MR. By using the weighted subtractions with optimal weighting values, the each tissue can be optimally depicted by the overcoming the reduced T2 contrast to the fat or muscle.

 
3291.   19 Novel FSE method to improve T2map accuracy by calculating B1map simultaneously
Yoshihiro Tomoda1, and Hitoshi Ikeda1
1MR Engineering, GE Healthcare Japan, Hino, Tokyo, Japan

 
Novel FSE method is proposed to improve the T2map accuracy by calculating B1map simultaneously without scan time elongation. Compared with the legacy CPMG method, T2 estimation error is low enough in a wider range of T2 and refocus FA. In addition, lower refocus FA is applicable to the proposed method, which would decrease SAR and increase the number of max slices per acquisition.

 
3292.   20 Knee cartilage T1 mapping with High Resolution Multi Slice Inversion Recovery: feasibility, reproducibility and accuracy
Henk Smit1, J. van Tiel1, E.E. Bron1, D. Poot1, G.C. Houston2, W.J. Niessen1,3, H. Weinans1, G.P. Krestin1, S. Klein1, E.H.G. Oei1, and G. Kotek1
1Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Zuid Holland, Netherlands, 2GE Healthcare, Netherlands, 3Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

 
In conventional T1 mapping of the human knee cartilage the low resolution is a problem. We propose and evaluate an alternative T1 mapping technique of the cartilage. Multi-Slice Inversion Recovery with ARC parallel readout allows high resolution knee cartilage images in a short time. Also a method for error estimation of the derived T1 values is presented, which is used to compute a weighted mean T1 over a region of interest. Reproducibility is tested on healthy volunteers and sensitivity to cartilage damage is shown on an osteoarthritis patient.

 
3293.   21 Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Skin Using Short and Ultrashort Echo Time Pulse Sequences
Jiang Du1, Michael Carl2, Nikolaus M. Szeverenyi1, and Graeme M. Bydder1
1Radiology, University of California, San Diego, CA, United States, 2GE Healthcare, San Diego, CA, United States

 
MRI of the skin was performed with short and ultrashort TE pulse sequences using a clinical 3T system. Studies were performed in tissue samples, cadavers and human subjects. The stratum lucidum and fiber structure in the stratum papillare, stratum reticular and hypodermis were demonstrated. These showed obvious magic angle effects. Sebaceous, ecrine and apocrine glands were shown together with the arrector pili muscle. Signal was detectable in the nail. Planes parallel to the surface of the skin were particularly useful. Short T2 tissues of the skin can be well demonstrated with short and ultrashort TE sequences.

 
3294.   22 Dynamic 3D T1 TFE Images of the Orbit with High Spatiotemporal Resolution at 3T
Marco Piccirelli1,2, Chris Bockisch3, and Roger Luechinger4
1SNS Lab, Dept. ECON, University Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2Inst for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,3Departments of Neurology, Ophthalmology, and Otolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 4Inst for Biomedical Engineering, University & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

 
Dynamic MRI of the orbit during eye movement with high spatiotemporal resolution is possible using a segmented acquisition. Nevertheless, the excessively long resulting scantime prohibits clinical use. Therefore, methods are needed to decrease the examination duration, such as, e.g., multichannel receive array that will enable simultaneous scanning of both orbits and kt SENSE image acquisition. Simultaneous eye tracking enable the control of the reproducibility of the eye motion, and may be used for re-measurement of k-space profiles with wrong gaze direction. We present here methodological improvements that enable dynamic imaging of the orbit with high spatiotemporal resolution at 3T.

 
3295.   23 A Comparison of Quantitative Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced CT and MRI in Musculoskeletal Tumors
Greg O. Cron1,2, Merit El-Maadawy3, Joel Werier1,2, Rebecca E. Thornhill1,2, Robert Chatelain1, Elizabeth Henderson1, Claire Foottit1, Ian Cameron1,2, and Mark E. Schweitzer1,2
1The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada, 2The University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada, 3Mansoura University Hospitals, Mansoura, Egypt

 
Measurement of tracer kinetic parameters via dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI is a promising technique for evaluating musculoskeletal tumor aggressiveness. Standardization and validation studies for DCE-MRI in musculoskeletal tumors have been lacking, however. The purpose of this study was to validate DCE-MRI in musculoskeletal tumors by comparing to DCE-computed tomography (CT) in the same patients. We observed reasonable agreement in tracer kinetic parameters measured with CT and MRI. In particular, Ktrans had very similar mean values and showed good correlation on a case-by-case basis. This represents an important step forward for quantification of DCE-MRI for these tumors.

 
3296.   24 Imaging of Musculoskeletal Tumors with Anatomic, Functional and Metabolic Techniques: The Pre-treatment Setting
Laura M Fayad1, Fillipo Del Grande2, Ney Tatizawa-Shiga2, Xin Wang3, Peter B Barker2, Michael A Jacobs2, John A Carrino2, and David A Bluemke4
1Radiology, Orthopaedic Surgery and Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, 2Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, 3Johns Hopkins University, 4Radiology, NIH

 
The role of MR imaging in the evaluation of musculoskeletal tumors continues to evolve as new techniques emerge. While conventional T1 and fluid-sensitive sequences are entirely sufficient to determine the location and extent of a lesion, quantitative methodologies (chemical shift imaging, perfusion imaging, DWI, MR spectroscopy) have become available and provide metrics that may advance the role of MR imaging for characterization. Tumor extent is well-evaluated on anatomic pulse sequences, but with the advent of whole body imaging, the roles of MR imaging now include detection.
 
Electronic Poster Session - Musculoskeletal

Cartilage, Menisci, Ligaments & Tendon
Click on to view the abstract pdf and click on to view the video presentation. (Not all presentations are available.)
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Exhibition Hall  10:00 - 11:00

  Computer #  
3297.   

25 DTI of articular cartilage can predict early cartilage damage as assessed by histopathology
Jose G Raya1, Gerd Melkus2, Silvia Adam-Neumair3, Elisabeth Muetzel3, Maximilian F Reiser3, Peter M. Jakob4, Thorsten Kirsch5, and Christian Glaser5
1Radiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, United States, 2University of California San francisco, 3University of Munich, 4University of Wuerzburg, 5New York University Langone Medical Center

 
The aim of this work was to investigate the value of DTI of articular cartilage as predictor for early cartilage damage as assessed by histopathology. 41 cartilage-on-bone samples were examined at 17.6T. After MRI samples underwent histology with safranin-O for histopathology assessment of OA (OARSI score). The prognostic value of DTI was analyzed with logistic regression. Performance of DTI was assessed with ROC-curve analysis and the prediction error with 10-flod cross-validation. DTI demonstrated very good prediction performance (Sensitivity=92.9%, Specificity=77.8%) and a correct classification of more than 3 of 4 samples (78%) in a collective with low OARSI score (1–2).

 
3298.   26 Analysis of fiber arrangement in knee cartilage of younger and older volunteers with 7-T MRI
Nikita Garnov1, Wilfried Gründer2, Gregor Thörmer1, Robert Trampel3, Robert Turner3, Thomas Kahn1, and Harald Busse1
1Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany, 2institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany, 3Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

 
Degenerative changes in arthritic joint cartilage start at the surface layer and are characterized by a decreased order of the anisotropic radial structures. A depletion of these structures could therefore be an indicator for early arthritic changes in the cartilage. In this study, the fiber structure of the knee cartilage was analyzed by high-resolution, angle-sensitive MRI measurements in a 7-T whole-body scanner. The comparison between 10 younger and 10 older healthy subjects revealed significant differences in the anisotropic structure of the femoral cartilage. The presented technique therefore holds promise for a non-invasive assessment of cartilage integrity.

 
3299.   27 Evaluation of viscoelasticity in early degenerative cartilage using apparent diffusion coefficient
Takako Aoki1, Atsuya Watanabe2, Naotaka Nitta3, Akira Furukawa1, and Mamoru Niitsu4
1Radiological Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 2Orthopedic Surgery, Teikyo University Chiba Medical Center, Anesaki, Chiba, Japan, 3Biomedical Sensing and Imaging, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, 4Radiology, Saitama Medical University Hospital, Iruma-gun, Saitama, Japan

 
This is an interesting study on diffusion weighted MRI to assess articular cartilage in porcine knees by correlating ADC maps with viscosity coefficient and relaxation time measured by indentation testing.The strength of this article is the study design, performing diffusion weighted MRI on fresh porcine knees and using indentation testing as a measure of cartilage viscosity. Shortcomings are the inclusion of only normal knees. It would have been interesting to know the performance of diffusion weighted MRI to detect and quantify cartilage lesions.

 
3300.   28 Study of the Vertical Striations in Articular Cartilage Using Dipolar Anisotropy Fiber Imaging
Nikolaus M. Szeverenyi1, Jiang Du1, Chantal Pauli2, Sheronda Statum1, Christine Chung1, and Graeme M. Bydder1
1Radiology, University of California, San Diego, CA, United States, 2Scripps Institute, San Diego, CA, United States

 
Magic angle effects are important in accounting for the signal of different layers of articular cartilage, but equally striking are vertical striations seen perpendicular to the layers. These correlate with leaves seen with freeze-fracture, but the mechanism responsible for contrast between them has not been defined. By systematically rotating cartilage relative to B0, imaging it, registering the images and studying the signal intensity, differences in degree of magic angle effect between leaves were defined. In addition, both linear and meshwork patterns of fibers were demonstrated in the leaves. These structures were most evident in uncovered cartilage.

 
3301.   29 Accompanying mobile MRI T2*-mapping of ankle- and hindfoot joint cartilage on 22 endurance athletes during a transcontinental footrace over 4,500 km using a 40-tonnes truck trailer.
Uwe Hans-Werner Schütz1, Daniel Schoss1, Hans-Jürgen Brambs1, and Christian Billich1
1Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

 
Unique data on T2* mapping of ankle and hindfoot joints from a field study with a mobile 1.5T MRI truck trailer accompanying 22 endurance athletes on their 4,500 km multistage ultra marathon through whole Europe in 64 days are presented. A single ultra marathon does not bather the ability of cartilage to react with physiological hydration to the running burden. But daily ultra marathon over 9 weeks without any day rest shows a decrease of cartilage ability of ankle and hindfoot joints to hydrate, indicating that this immense amount of running burden initiates degenerative processes.

 
3302.   30 24-month longitudinal assessment of cartilage status in subjects at risk of developing OA: T2 mapping following ACL tear & reconstruction surgery
Ashley Williams1, and Constance R Chu1
1Cartilage Restoration Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

 
ALC tear (ACLT) is a known risk factor for OA development. Longitudinal T2 mapping of knee cartilage microstructural status in 16 human ACLT subjects reveals that T2 values are stable over the first 12 months following ACL reconstruction surgery and then fall between 12 and 24 months post-surgery. Longitudinal T2 differences were seen in the deep halves of cMFC and cLFC cartilage. Longitudinal differences were not detected in superficial cartilage. Deep T2 differences between ACLT and asymptomatic subjects suggests that T2 mapping may be sensitive to subclinical alteration of the subsurface cartilage matrix that is not detected by arthroscopic evaluation.

 
3303.   31 Quantitative T2 Mapping and Mechanical Testing in an Equine Model of Cartilage Defect Repair
Megan E Bowers1, Ashley Williams1, Lisa A Fortier2, Albert C Chen3, Robert L Sah3, and Constance R Chu1
1Cartilage Restoration Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States, 2College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States, 3Cartilage Tissue Engineering Lab, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States

 
Clinical strategies to evaluate repaired articular cartilage are needed. This study’s aim was to assess T2 mapping as a surrogate for invasive and destructive tissue analysis in an equine model of articular cartilage defects repaired with either concentrated bone marrow aspirate (CBMA) or microfracture (MFx) after one year of healing. Mechanical deficits in repair tissue compared to control cartilage corresponded to significant differences in full-thickness T2 values. This result suggests that as cartilage repair techniques are translated into the human clinical setting, T2 mapping may be useful as a non-invasive surrogate for the assessment of repair tissue’s functional integrity.

 
3304.   32 T2 Relaxation Times in Medial Compartment Osteoarthritis using 3D Quantitative DESS (qDESS)
Hillary J. Braun1,2, Bragi Sveinsson1,3, Marcus T. Alley1, Jason L. Dragoo2, Caroline D. Jordan1,4, George Pappas2, Brian A. Hargreaves1, and Garry E. Gold1,4
1Radiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States, 2Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Redwood City, CA, United States, 3Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 4Bioengineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States

 
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, degenerative disease of the whole joint, disabling 10% of the population over 60, and costing as much as $60 billion each year. Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have enabled improved visualization and quantification of early, OA-related changes to articular cartilage. T2 mapping provides an accurate measure of tissue relaxation time, with increased values correlating with changes in cartilage water content and collagen structure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate two-dimensional fast-spin echo (2D-FSE) and quantitative three-dimensional (3D) Dual-Echo Steady State (qDESS) T2 mapping methods for assessing articular knee cartilage in both healthy volunteers and patients with medial compartment OA.

 
3305.   33 T1rho dispersion and T2 measurements of cartilage and muscle in guinea pig knees at 7 Tesla
Gerd Melkus1, James Hawkins1, Joseph Schooler1, Xiaojuan Li1, and 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.

 
3306.   34 T1lower case Greek rho dispersion in articular cartilage: relationship to material properties and macromolecular content
Kathryn E Keenan1, Thor F Besier2, R. Lane Smith1,3, John M Pauly1, Scott L Delp1, Gary S Beaupre3, and Garry E Gold1
1Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, 2University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, 3Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto, CA, United States

 
ΔT1lower case Greek rho, a simple measure of T1lower case Greek rho dispersion, can predict changes in cartilage modulus and macromolecular content when there is no visible cartilage damage on conventional MR. We define ΔT1lower case Greek rho as the difference between T1lower case Greek rho relaxation times at two spin-lock frequencies. For this cadaveric patellae study, initial elastic modulus, T1lower case Greek rho relaxation times at 0, 500 and 1000 Hz and macromolecular contents were measured. Initial elastic modulus decreased with increasing ΔT1lower case Greek rho when there was no visible cartilage damage on conventional MR (p<0.05). ΔT1lower case Greek rho has clinical potential to advance the understanding of osteoarthritis by predicting changes in cartilage modulus and macromolecular content in vivo.

 
3307.   35 Noncontrast cartilage assessment (T1lower case Greek rho) of the hip in femoroacetabular impingment: Can we predict early changes?
Arturo Cardenas-Blanco1,2, Kawan Rakhra1, Andrew Speirs3, Ian Cameron1,3, Mark Schweitzer1,2, and Paul Beaule2,4
1Diagnostic Imaging, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 3Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 4Orthopedic surgery division, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

 
In degenerative articular disorders, pre-structural cartilage degeneration is important to diagnose, as these patients are most amenable to surgical as well as non-surgical interventions. In Femoroacetabular Impingement, intervention is most appropriately applied to those patients with pre-structural cartilage changes. Hence we sought to determine, via T1ρ, if there are early changes in cartilage proteoglycan content in patients with unilateral symptomatic CAM type FAI, as compared to their asymptomatic CAM type FAI contra-lateral side, normal volunteers, as well as a unique possibly transition group who have CAM deformity but who are asymptomatic.

 
3308.   36 Cartilage assessment in femoroacetabular impingement using dGEMRIC with radial imaging planes at 3 Tesla: preliminary validation against intra-operative findings
Riccardo Lattanzi1,2, Catherine Petchprapa1, Daniele Ascani1, Roy I Davidovitch3, Thomas Youm3, Robert J Meislin3, and Michael Recht1
1Radiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, 2The Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, 3Orthopedic Surgery, New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY, United States

 
Early diagnosis of articular cartilage degeneration is critical to the success of corrective surgical procedures for patients with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Delayed Gadolinium-Enhanced MRI of Cartilage (dGEMRIC) can detect early biochemical changes in articular cartilage. In this work we validated the technique for the hip at 3 T against intra-operative findings, using radial imaging planes and a method to standardize dGEMRIC measurements, in order to remove the effect of inter- and intra-patient variability. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 86%, 55% and 73% for dGEMRIC, and 59%, 61% and 60% for morphologic evaluation, using corresponding proton-density-weighted radial images.

 
3309.   37 Evaluation of the dependency of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chemical exchange saturation transfer (gagCEST) imaging on cartilage GAG content in the ankle at 3 T
Benjamin Schmitt1, Siegfried Trattnig2, Claudia Sallinger2, Jochen Hofstätter2, Reinhard Windhager2, and Stephan Domayer2
1Centre for High-Field MR, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 2Medical University of Vienna

 
The study was performed to assess to which extent gagCEST signal intensities measured with a clinical 3 T MR scanner in ankle cartilage correlate to cartilage GAG content as determined by the gold standard, biochemical quantification of GAG. Therefore, 7 ankles from human cadavers were examined with both techniques in an in-vitro study and linear correlations were found between them, which suggests that gagCEST imaging reflects GAG content in cartilage tissue.

 
3310.   38 Repeatability and Reproducibility of Quantitative Sodium MRI of Cartilage In Vivo at 3T and 7T
Guillaume Madelin1, James Babb1, Ding Xia1, Gregory Chang1, Alexej Jerschow2, and Ravinder R Regatte1
1Radiology Department, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, 2Chemistry Department, New York University, New York, NY, United States

 
Quantitative sodium MRI is highly specific to glycosaminoglycan content and could be used to assess the biochemical degradation of cartilage in early stages of osteoarthritis. The aim of this study is to assess the reproducibility and repeatability for sodium quantification in cartilage in vivo using intra-day and inter-day acquisitions at 3T and 7T, with a 3D radial sequence, with and without fluid suppression. The measured RMS CV are in the range 7-14%, therefore the repeatability and reproducibility CV of sodium quantification using sodium MRI compare favorably with the CV of other proton-based MRI techniques (T2 map, T1rho map, dGEMRIC).

 
3311.   39 Whole body multiple joint MRI of patients presenting with inflammatory arthritis.
Richard Hodgson1, Andrew Grainger2, Philip O'Connor2, Robert Evans2, Paul Emery1, and Jane Freeston1
1LMBRU, University of Leeds, Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, 2Chapel Allerton Hospital

 
Early diagnosis of arthritis is important to start appropriate treatment but diagnosis may be difficult. Whole body multiple joint MRI has the potential to help diagnosis. 15 patients presenting with arthritis were studied with whole body multiple joint MRI. MRI was more sensitive than clinical examination. More sites were involved in rheumatoid arthritis than undifferentiated arthritis. MRI revealed clinically unsuspected findings which were diagnosically useful. Whole body multiple joint MRI may be useful in early arthritis.

 
3312.   40 Optimization study for high-resolution 3D isotropic fat-suppressed fast spin echo MR imaging of the wrist
Hiroshi Yoshioka1, Eiko Yamabe1, Arash Anavim1, Ryo Miyagi1, Sarah Rooney1, and Dave Hitt2
1Radiological Sciences, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States, 2Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, United States

 
The purpose of the present study is to optimize parameters of high-resolution 3D isotropic FSE fat-suppressed proton density-weighted images (FS PDWI) of the wrist in clinical settings within approximately 5 minute scan time. Optimal 3D isotropic FS PDWI of the wrist can be obtained with either 0.3 mm voxel size, 117 ETL, and 140-160 TI or 0.35 mm voxel size, 88 ETL, and 160-180 TI with less blurring, and acceptable S/N. Additional thin slice axial and sagittal images can be reformatted without extra scan time or degradation of image quality for a more complete assessment of the wrist structures.

 
3313.   41 Investigation of tibiotalar impingement using retrospective 3D volume reconstruction and a flexible tracking device
Cris Lovell-Smith1, Kaywan Izadpanah2, Sebastian Gruhlke1, Julian Maclaren1, Michael Herbst1, Leonie Eisebraun1, Matthias Honal1, and Maxim Zaitsev1
1Dept. of Radiology, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany, 2Dept. of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany

 
In this work we leverage a specially designed MR-compatible tracking system to track the unconstrained and unloaded motion of the fore-foot. Using a CINE sequence we collect 2D slices of the ankle during foot motion. Tracking data coupled with the image timestamps allows us to retrospectively sort the images to produce a number of 3D image stacks. These image stacks represent consistent 3D volumes at given points in the foot trajectory. We use the motion-sequences created using this technique to investigate tibiotalar impingement.

 
3314.   42 Visualization of the anterior cruciate ligament using 3D ultrashort echo-time MR imaging at 3.0T
Noriyuki Tawara1, Takahiro Ohnishi2, Katsuya Maruyama2, Mamoru Niitsu3, Hideyuki Takahashi4, Kohei Nakajima1, Toru Okuwaki1, and Takashi Kawahara1
1Department of Sports Medicine, Japan Institute of Sports Scinences, Tokyo, Japan, 2Siemens Japan, Tokyo, Japan, 3Department of Radiology, Saitama Medcical University, Saitama, Japan, 4Department of Sports Science, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan

 
ACL injury is one of the most common, but serious injury among the sports injuries. In Japan more than 20,000 athletes are injured per year. MRI plays an important role in supporting the diagnosis of acute and chronic ligament injures. However there is no method to measure the maturation of the tendon and ligaments except UTE techniques. On the other hand, in knee MR imaging, the magic angle phenomenon affected largely to the depictability of the various ligaments. So, the aim of this work is to demonstrate the potential of 3D UTE imaging for kneefs ligament visualization, especially ACL.

 
3315.   43 Water selective high resolution imaging of short T2 components of the knee at high and ultra high field strenghts
Xeni Deligianni1, Peter Bär2, Klaus Scheffler3,4, Siegfried Trattnig5, and Oliver Bieri1
1Division of Radiological Physics - Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, NA, Switzerland, 2Siemens (Customer Services- Application MR), Erlangen, Germany, 3MTC Department, MPI for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, 4Dept. Neuroimaging and MR-Physics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, 5Medical University of Vienna

 
Short echo time sequences can produce signal from short T2 components, but require long reconstruction times and are sensitive to the gradient system imperfections. A standard spoiled gradient echo sequence was adapted with a variable echo time scheme and highly asymmetric Cartesian sampling in order to provide fast short echo time and high resolution and contrast images, while the reduced scan time offers the possibility to use binomial RF pulses in order to achieve fat suppression at clinically adequate scan times. The benefits of this approach were demonstrated in a 3T as well as a 7T MR scanner.

 
3316.   44 Quick water-selective excitation in ultrashort echo time (UTE) imaging of tendons and ligaments at 3T
Fabian Springer1,2, Ulrich Grosse1,2, Roland Syha1,2, Günter Steidle2, Petros Martirosian2, and Fritz Schick2
1Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, 2Section on Experimental Radiology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

 
Structure and composition of solid-like tissues lead to a fast signal decay causing hardly any signal using conventional MR imaging sequences. We present a newly developed water-selective ultrashort echo time sequence for improved visualization of tendons and ligaments. Water-selective binomial excitation pulses were implemented; imaging parameters were optimised by means of an analytical description of steady-state magnetization and numerical simulations. Tendons and ligaments were exemplarily examined in-vivo and could be clearly delineated with positive contrast compared to surrounding fatty tissue. The presented sequence seems to be a promising approach which is worth being further evaluated in clinical musculoskeletal MRI.

 
3317.   45 Multiparametric MRI assessment of Cadaver Achilles Tendon at 7T
Vladimir Juras1,2, Sebastian Apprich1, Christina Pressl1, Stefan Zbyn1, Pavol Szomolanyi1, Stephan Domayer3, Ivan Frollo2, and Siegfried Trattnig1
1Department of Radiology, MR Centre of Excellence, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Austria, 2Department of Imaging Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Bratislava, Slovakia, 3Department of Orthopedics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Austria

 
In this study, multi-parametric MRI was used to image cadaver ATs. Sodium MRI, T2 mapping, fast imaging with steady state precession (FISP), and reversed FISP (PSIF) have been used for tendon assessment. The correlation between immunohistologically assessed GAG and water content was high in some cases, especially with sodium SNR. I was shown that the biochemical content of the AT can be evaluated by quantitative MRI.

 
3318.   46 MRI of the Pulleys of the Digital and Palmar Flexor Tendons Using Short and Ultrashort Echo Time Pulse Sequences
John Firebaugh1, Jiang Du1, Michael Carl2, Christine Chung1, Nikolaus M. Szeverenyi1, and Graeme M. Bydder1
1Radiology, University of California, San Diego, CA, United States, 2GE Healthcare, San Diego, CA, United States

 
Cadaveric digital and palmar flexor tendons were studied with short and ultrashort TE pulse sequences using a clinical 3T system. Annular, cruciate and oblique pulleys were demonstrated with high signal including a central layer which showed marked angle effects (high and low signal with change in orientation to B0) differentiating it from the other two layers. Connections to the volar plate (A1 A3 A5) and periosteum (A2 A4) were well seen. Use of shorter TE sequences shows anatomy that has not previously been demonstrated with conventional longer TE pulse sequences.

 
3319.   47 Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Unanticipated Causes of Ankle Pain: A Pictorial Essay
Dustin Nguyen, D.O.1, Cheri Nguyen, M.D.1, Mohammad Umair, D.O.2, and John Loh, M.D.1
1Radiology, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, United States, 2Radiology, Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, Patchogue, New York, United States

 
Ankle pain is a common presenting complaint in the ambulatory or emergent setting with the usual etiologies being trauma or sports related injuries. The mechanism is typically traumatic secondary to a twisting-type injury. There is a subset of patients presenting with ankle pain that are due to less common etiologies such as osteochondral lesions of the talar dome, plantar fasciitis and sinus tarsi ganglia to name a few. The purpose of the poster is to educate the viewer about the less common causes of ankle pain and to emphasis a working differential diagnosis for ankle pain.
 
Electronic Poster Session - Musculoskeletal

Spine/Bone
Click on to view the abstract pdf and click on to view the video presentation. (Not all presentations are available.)
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Exhibition Hall  11:00 - 12:00

  Computer #  
3320.   25 Evaluation of Lumbar Foraminal and Extraforaminal Stenosis with 3D T2*-Weighted Gradient-Echo MR Imaging at 3T
Kazuyuki Ohgi1, Masatoshi Hotta1, Satoshi Doishita1, Akinori Harada1, Akiyoshi Yamashita1, Hiroyuki Yokote1, Shunji Tsukuda1, and Tetsuhisa Yamada1
1Radiology, Japanese Red-Cross Medical Center, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

 
The purpose of this presentation is to indicate the usefulness of spinal nerve root demonstration with 3D T2*-weighted gradient-echo (T2*W GRE) imaging in the diagnosis of lumbar foraminal and extraforaminal stenosis. 3D T2*W GRE imaging can provide more specific information than conventional MRI in the presurgical evaluation of lumbar foraminal and extarforaminal stenosis. The use of this technique has a potential of preventing failed back surgery syndrome, defined as persistence of clinical symptoms even after surgery.

 
3321.   26 Reproducibility of Quantification for Diffusion Values in Lumbar Spinal Nerves Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Toshinori Sakai1,2, Ryo Miyagi1, Yasunari Fujinaga1, Eiko Yamabe1, Nitin N Bhatia2, and Hiroshi Yoshioka1
1Radiology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California, United States, 2Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California, United States

 
We analyzed the fractional anisotropy (FA) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values at all consecutive points along the L4, L5 and S1 nerves using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and fiber tracking (FT). Our study demonstrated that FA values between ROI and FT methods were inconsistent (r=0.528), while ADC values had a relatively good consistency (r=0.822) (n=754/each method). Both FA and ADC values measured with FT demonstrated significant better reproducibility in both inter- and intra-rater analyses. For measurements of FA and ADC values, FT would be warranted in the future clinical application.

 
3322.   27 Improved Frequency Selective Fat Suppression in the Cervical Spine and Neck with Tissue Susceptibility Matched Pyrolytic Graphite Foam
Gary Lee1, Caroline Jordan2,3, Jeff McCormick4, Pamela Tiet5, Brian Hargreaves2, and Steven Conolly1,5
1Berkeley/UCSF Bioengineering Joint Graduate Group, Berkeley, CA, United States, 2Radiology, Stanford University, 3Bioengineering, Stanford University,4Molecular Environmental Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 5Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley

 
Many MRI applications are vulnerable to B0 inhomogeneity, including robust fat suppression, which requires better than 1 ppm homogeneity. We have tailored a pyrolytic graphite composite foam with magnetic susceptibility matched to human tissue. Here, we have experimentally demonstrated that PG foam cushions improve the B0 field uniformity to the critical threshold of plus-or-minus sign1 ppm in the neck of 6 normal volunteers at 3T. The tissue susceptibility matched PG foams consistently mitigated signal drop out, improved image SNR, and enabled far more robust frequency selective fat suppression in T1-weighted GRE images in volunteers.

 
3323.   28 A comparative study of vertebral body corner edema and gadolinium enhancement for assessment of active spinal inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis
Yi-Xiang Wang1, James F Griffith1, Min Deng1, Tena K Li2, Lai-Shan Tam2, Vivian WY Lee3, Kenneth K.C. Lee2, and Edmund K Li2
1Dept Imaging & Interventional Radiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, 2Dept Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, 3School of Pharmacy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

 
Spine ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory enthesopathy. MRI scoring methods for quantifying the level of spinal inflammatory activity rely on the detection of (a) bone marrow edema on T2W fat-suppressed sequences, (b) hyper-diffusion of gadolinium into the interstitium of inflamed tissues on fat-suppressed T1W sequences. While spine AS inflammation manifests as areas of edema or gadolinium enhancement, our study shows these changes do not necessarily always occur in parallel, and contrast enhanced MR imaging yielded a higher lesion score than STIR imaging. The edema lesions seemed to be more responsive to treatment than contrast enhanced lesion.

 
3324.   29 Pixel-by-pixel perfusion analysis of Modic changes by DCE-MRI
Haiyan Lv1, Heather Ting Ma1, James F. Griffith2, Alvin F.W. Li2, Yixiang Wang2, David K.W. Yeung2, Anthony Kwok2, and Ping-Chung Leung2
1Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, 2Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

 
This study investigated pixel-by-pixel perfusion in bone marrow by fitting the signal intensity curve using Brix model. The fitted curves were classified as pattern 1, 2 and 3 according to the terminal slope, which indicated the perfusion ability. Compared with normal subjects by t-test, Modic type I showed higher pattern 1 percentage and ROI pattern percentage; Modic type II showed a lower ROI pattern percentage; and Modic type III showed no significant difference. Normal group has a higher pattern 3 percentage than other groups. This study indicated that the perfusion ability of bone marrow varied in different Modic changes.

 
3325.   30 Multiparametric analysis of the pathophysiology and etiology of spinal disc degeneration
L. Tugan Muftuler1,2, Vance O. Gardner3, Hon J. Yu4, and Dennis J. Maiman1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, 2Center for Imaging Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, 3Orthopaedic Education and Research Institute of Southern California, Orange, CA, United States, 4Radiology, University of California, Orange, CA, United States

 
In this study we used a multi-parametric MRI protocol to study pathophysiology and etiology of lumbar disc degeneration. We proposed a new quantitative metric that utilized a combination of ADC and T2 signals from the discs to assess the degree of disc degeneration. Using this new metric, we demonstrated close associations between disc degeneration, age and poor nutrient delivery to discs. We also showed quantitatively for the first time that inferior lumbar discs are more prone to degeneration than superior discs.

 
3326.   31 Comparison of techniques for assessment of age-related degeneration in intervertebral discs
Gopal Varma1, Fotini Kourtelidis1, Alexander Ivanishev1,2, Robert L Greenman1, David B Hackney3, Robert E Lenkinski1,2, and Elena Vinogradov1,2
1Radiology, Division of MR Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, 2Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States, 3Neuroradiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

 
The assessment of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content in intervertebral discs might provide early indication of disc degeneration. Non-invasive MR techniques associated with GAG assessment include the use of spectroscopy, sodium imaging and chemical exchange saturation transfer. A preliminary analysis of these methods is provided, which includes application to the L4/L5 IVD of volunteers at different ages, as a first step towards a more complete evaluation.

 
3327.   32 Longitudinal Changes in T1lower case Greek rho at Adjacent Level Discs
Matthew Fenty1, Catherine DeBrosse2, Rachelle Crescenzi2, Dawn Squillante3, Philip M. Maurer3, Dawn M. Elliott4, and Ari Borthakur1
1CMROI, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 2Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 33B Orthopaedics, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 4Department of Bioengineering, University of Delaware, Wilmington, DE, United States

 
In this study, we use T1lower case Greek rho as a quantitative biomarker to assess discs adjacent to surgically removed discs two years post-surgery. We further evaluate whether these changes in T1lower case Greek rho were related to pre-surgical discography opening pressure or T2-MRI based Pfirrmann degenerative grades of the same adjacent discs. Pre-surgical opening pressure measurements of adjacent discs were significantly related to changes in T1lower case Greek rho pre- and post-surgery.

 
3328.   33 An in vivo comparative study of T1rho and T2 relaxation times for evaluation of lumber disc degeneration at 3.0 Tesla MRI
Yi-Xiang Wang1, Feng Zhao1, James F Griffith1, Greta SP Mok2, Queenie Chan3, and Jing Yuan1
1Dept Imaging & Interventional Radiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, 2Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Macau, Macau, 3Philips Healthcare, Hong Kong

 
The purpose of the current in vivo 3.0 T MRI study is to determine the relative performance of T1rho and T2 relaxation times in their assessment of disc degeneration with reference to an 8-level disc degeneration grading systems. For nucleus pulposus, T1rho and T2 relaxation times followed the same trend with their correlations to semi-quantitative gradings. T1rho relaxation time offered distinct advantage over T2 relaxation time in the evaluation of annulus fibrosus degeneration. While there were almost no changes of annulus fibrosus T2 values as the disc degeneration grades increased, T1rho decreased apparently as disc degeneration grades increased.

 
3329.   34 Sensitivity of T1lower case Greek rho MRI and Pfirrmann Grade to Discogenic Pain
Matthew Fenty1, Catherine DeBrosse2, Rachelle Crescenzi2, Dawn Squillante3, Philip M. Maurer3, Dawn M. Elliott4, and Ari Borthakur1
1CMROI, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 2Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 33B Orthopaedics, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 4Department of Bioengineering, University of Delaware, Wilmington, DE, United States

 
In a retrospective study, we determined the sensitivity of the T1lower case Greek rho relaxation time (pre-surgery) and T2 MRI-based Pfirrmann grading in predicting painful discs in patients. ROC analyses determined area-under-curves of 91% and 84% for T1lower case Greek rho and Pfirrmann grading, respectively, as predictor of which discs were painful (based on discographic measurements) and subsequently underwent fusion surgery. The long-term objective of this study is to evaluate quantitative and non-invasive biomarkers of disc degeneration in order to help identify discs candidates for surgery as well as measure outcomes following therapeutic interventions.

 
3330.   35 Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging of normal and degenerative lumbar intervertebral discs
Mina Kim1, Queenie Chan2, Marina-Portia Anthony1, Dino Samartzis3, Kenneth MC Cheung3, and Pek-Lan Khong1
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China, 2Philips Healthcare, Hong Kong, 3Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China

 
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been shown to improve the diagnosis and management of patients with intervertebral disc (IVD) related disorders. Multiparametric MRI offers the possibility of noninvasively assessing multiple aspects of pathophysiological processes that exist simultaneously, thereby further assisting in patient treatment management. The purpose of this study is to determine the correlation between relaxation parameters (T1ρ and T2), diffusion properties including fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and various clinical findings in human IVD. Our results suggest that each parameter may attribute different sensitivity to tissue properties.

 
3331.   36 Chemical exchange saturation transfer and T2 mapping in subjects with intervertebral disc degeneration at 3 Tesla
Mina Kim1, Queenie Chan2, Marina-Portia Anthony1, Dino Samartzis3, Kenneth MC Cheung3, and Pek-Lan Khong1
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China, 2Philips Healthcare, Hong Kong, 3Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China

 
Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) and T2 relaxation time were calculated in subjects with degenerative intervertebral discs (IVDs). Our results showed that CEST and T2 decreases with increasing grade of disc degeneration and that CEST values significantly correlated with T2. This study demonstrated a potential for the future use of MRI biomarkers in identifying early degenerative changes in the IVDs.

 
3332.   37 Sodium imaging of intervertebral disc using weighted signal averaging: application to age-related degeneration
Gopal Varma1, Alexander Ivanishev1,2, Robert L Greenman1, Fotini Kourtelidis1, David B Hackney3, Robert E Lenkinski1,2, and Elena Vinogradov1,2
1Radiology, Division of MR Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, 2Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States, 3Neuroradiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

 
The biochemical processes associated with degeneration of intervertebral discs (IVDs) are complex and have been found to include a loss of glycosaminoglycans (GAG). The concentration of GAG is correlated with sodium concentration and can be assessed by sodium MRI. The SNR from sodium MRI can be improved by weighted signal averaging, which is used in this work to acquire data from the L4/L5 IVD of volunteers of varying age to look at degeneration. The results allow distinction of the Na signal from the nucleus of the IVDs, which decreases with age.

 
3333.   38 Evaluation of Slice Encoding for Metal Artifact Correction in Patients with Recalled Orthopedic Hip Implants
Conny Ström1, Jörgen Strinnholm1, Volker Otten2, Jòn Hauksson1, Morten Bruvold3, Ulrike Blume3, Chiel den Harder3, and Clemens Bos3
1Department of Radiology, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden, 2Department of Orthopedy, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden, 3Philips Healthcare, Best, Netherlands

 
Wear and tear of orthopedic implants is seen in many patients approximately fifteen years after intervention. Clarification of the extent of resulting complications is crucial to evaluate to what extent implant replacement is necessary. CT provides information about bone density, bone dimensions and implant dimensions but not about tumor-like osteolytic tissue. MR covers soft tissue imaging but suffers from artifacts near metal. Recently, Slice-Encoding for Metal Artifact Correction (SEMAC) was introduced to counteract these artifacts. This work shows that, quite unlike conventional sequences, SEMAC can image osteolysis and enables tissue evaluation very close to metal implants, thus improving diagnosis quality.

 
3334.   39 Retrospective Gated MRI for High-Resolution Imaging of the TMJ Dynamics During Active Mastication
Daniel Kammer1, Anna-Katinka Bracher1, Andreas Horneff2, Erich Hell2, Johannes Ulrici2, Axel Bornstedt1, and Volker Rasche1
1Internal Medicine II, University Hospital of Ulm, Ulm, BW, Germany, 2Sirona Dental Systems

 
Imaging of the dynamics of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is of interest for varies pathologies. High-resolution or three-dimensional assessment under active mastication is currently limited by the required realtime imaging techniques. The objective of this contribution is to investigate the application of gated retrospective cine reconstruction technique for providing high-quality dynamic images of the TMJ during active mastication.

 
3335.   40 Validation and reproducibility of magnetic resonance imaging of skeletal age
Ryo Miyagi1,2, Eiko Yamabe1, Yasuhiko Terada3, Saki Kono3, Daiki Tamada3, Tomomi Uchiumi3, Katsumi Kose3, and Hiroshi Yoshioka1
1Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Orange, CA, United States, 2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan, 3Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan

 
The purpose of this study was to assess skeletal age using MRI and evaluate its validity. A total of 93 Japanese healthy children aged from 4.1 to 15.1 were recruited from the local community. There was a strong positive correlation between chronological age and skeletal age by MRI using the TW-Japan RUS system. The intra-reader and inter-reader reproducibility for the MRI skeletal age assessment were high. Disagreement of skeletal stage by MRI between readers was most frequently seen in the ulna and fifth metacarpal bone. MRI could be a non-invasive and non-radiation method of assessment of skeletal age.

 
3336.   41 In Vivo MRI Assessment of Subchondral Bone in an Equine Model
Maria Isabel Menendez1,2, Daniel Clark1, Alicia Bertone2, and Michael Knopp1
1Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States, 2Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States

 
MRI was used to detect and evaluate condylar subchondral bone edema of surgically created large osteochondral defects in the femoral condyle that underwent gene therapy. MRI detected changes in subchondral bone at 12, 24 and 52 weeks. CT was not able to detect condylar subchondral bone heterogeneity. Serial in vivo qMRI of condylar subchondral bone after surgically created osteochondral lesions provided evidence of support of subchondral bone changes that could not be visualized by CT. Furthermore, qMRI showed differences among different gene therapy treatments.Overall, MRI permitted an early detection of subchondral bone changes and follow up across time.

 
3337.   42 Zero echo time MR imaging of contrast-agent-enhanced calcium phosphate bone defect filler
Yi Sun1, Manuela Ventura2, Egbert Oosterwijk1, John A. Jansen2, X. Frank Walboomers2, and Arend Heerschap3
1Urology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands, 2Biomaterials, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 3Radiology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands

 
This study examined the possibility of using ZTE to differentiate bone and Calcium Phosphate Cement(CPC) bone filler, with contrast agent incorporation. Only the incorporation of 1% Gd-DTPA(w/w) had no unfavorable effects on the solidification time and mechanical properties of material. This incorporation largely decreased T2* of CPC, was therefore explored in an in vivo experiment. The contrast was enhanced at an early stage then disappeared due to material decay and bone regeneration after eight weeks.This indicates that ZTE imaging with proper contrast agent, is a valid method to visualize CPC degradation in preclinical experiment.

 
3338.   43 Ultra-short and Zero TE micro-imaging of bone samples at 9.4T
Steven Reynolds1, Nigel Hoggard1, and Martyn Paley1
1Academic Unit of Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom

 
Generally MR images of cortical bone and tendons with high collagen content are shown as areas of signal void, irrespective of image weighting. The use of Ultra-short and Zero TE sequences can provide high resolution imaging of these bone structures in the presence of severe susceptibility artefact by minimising the time available for T2* signal dephasing: producing positive contrast from cortical bone. By combining very strong gradients together with custom sized close fitting radiofrequency coils allow acquisition of images with spatial resolution of 10’s of microns. This feasibility study investigated the limits of imaging normal bone samples at high resolution in the presence of metal artifacts.

 
3339.   44 Hyperintense Signal from Craniofacial Bones in SWIFT Images of Fetal Mouse
Jinjin Zhang1, Djaudat Idiyatullin1, Vladimir Leon Salazar2, Curtis Corum1, and Michael Garwood1
1Center of Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 2Div. of TMD and Orofacial Pain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

 
The detection and accurate prenatal diagnosis of skeletal dysplasia remain problematic with ultrasonography. Although MRI can be used to diagnose some fetal musculoskeletal abnormalities, studies using MRI to image fetal bones directly are limited. Here, SWIFT, which is sensitive to short T2 signals, was utilized to image craniofacial bones and to measure the T1 of a fetal mouse head. Due to the near absence of T2-weighting, SWIFT images display close to pure T1-weighted contrast. The feasibility of SWIFT to allow qualitative and quantitative evaluation of fetal skeleton makes it a powerful complement to ultrasonography for the detection and diagnosis of skeletal dysplasia.

 
3340.   45 Assessment of Marrow Fat in Femoral Neck of Overweight and Obese Volunteers using MRS at 1.5T
Qing Yuan1, Ivan Dimitrov2, Paul T Weatherall1, Ildiko Lingvay3, and Naim M Maalouf3
1Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States, 2Philips Medical Systems, Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 3Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States

 
Bone marrow lipotoxicity has recently been postulated as a contributing mechanism to osteoporosis. We evaluated the relationship between hip bone mineral density (BMD) and bone marrow fat content in 23 volunteers. Femoral neck bone marrow fat was quantified using 1H MRS. A significant inverse correlation was found between bone marrow fat and BMD T-scores. Although women and men had similar age, body weight, femoral neck and total hip BMD, bone marrow fat content was significantly higher in men compared to women. Our data provides preliminary support to the concept of bone marrow lipotoxicity and its possible relationship with osteoporosis.

 
3341.   46 Study on perfusion distribution of proximal femur based on DCE-MRI
Heather Ting Ma1,2, James F. Griffith2, Haiyan Lv1, Alvin F.W. Li2, David K.W. Yeung2, Anthony Kwok2, and Ping-Chung Leung2
1Department of Electronic & Information Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, 2Prince of Walse Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

 
This study investigated perfusion distribution at proximal femur in subjects of varying bone mineral density (BMD). Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI data was extracted pixel-by-pixel and classified into 3 patterns. A notable reduced perfusion as a whole was observed in osteoporotic subjects. Moreover, perfusion distribution varies as BMD decreases, especially at the area crossing the femoral neck to the shaft. Consistent for all subjects, the perfusion decreases significantly from the lesser trochanter to the greater trochanter. Further research on perfusion distribution is promising for deepen our knowledge of the mechanism for osteoporotic fracture at proximal femur.

 
3342.   47 Microscopic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (µMRI) Assessment of Trabecular Micro-Architecture in Non-Osteoporotic Post-Menopausal Women With and Without Fracture
Richard Kijowski1, Michael Tuite1, Diane Krueger2, Michael Kleerekoper3, and Neil Binkley2
1Radiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 2Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 3Medicine, St. Joseph Mercy Reichert Health Center, Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States

 
Microscopic magnetic resonance imaging (µMRI) of the wrist was performed on 18 post-menopausal women with normal or osteopenic bone mineral density (BMD) who had a history of low energy fracture and a control group of 18 age, race, and ultra-distal radius BMD-matched postmenopausal women with no history of fracture. The ultra-high resolution images were used to measure trabecular micro-architecture parameters using a semi-automated virtual bone biopsy system. Post-menopausal women with fracture had significantly lower (p<0.05) trabecular bone volume fraction and surface-to-curve ratio and significantly higher (p<0.05) erosion index than women without fracture.

 
3343.   48 Functional MR Imaging of Vertebral Compression Fracture
Eito Kozawa1, Waka Mizukoshi2, Naoko Nishi2, and Fumiko Kimura2
1Saitama Medical University, International Medical Center, Hidaka-shi, Saitama, Japan, 2Diagnostic Imaging, Saitama Medical University, International Medical Center, Japan

 
Various quantitative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques could improve assessment of compression fractures.