UC San Diego

Objective

Cartilage degeneration involves structural, compositional, and biomechanical alterations that may be detected non-invasively using quantitative MRI. The goal of this study was to determine if topographical variation in T1rho values correlates with indentation stiffness and biochemical contents of human patellar cartilage.

Design

Cadaveric patellae from unilateral knees of 5 donors with moderate degeneration were imaged at 3-Telsa with spiral chopped magnetization preparation T1rho sequence. Indentation testing was performed, followed by biochemical analyses to determine water and sulfated glycosaminoglycan contents. T1rho values were compared to indentation stiffness, using semi-circular regions of interest (ROIs) of varying sizes at each indentation site. ROIs matching the resected tissues were analyzed, and univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to compare T1rho values to biochemical contents.

Results

Grossly, superficial degenerative change of the cartilage (i.e., roughened texture and erosion) corresponded with regions of high T1rho values. High T1rho values correlated with low indentation stiffness, and the strength of correlation varied slightly with the ROI size. Spatial variations in T1rho values correlated positively with that of the water content (R² = 0.10, p < 0.05) and negatively with the variations in the GAG content (R² = 0.13, p < 0.01). Multivariate correlation (R² = 0.23, p < 0.01) was stronger than either of the univariate correlations.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate the sensitivity of T1rho values to spatially varying function and composition of cartilage and that the strength of correlation depends on the method of data analysis and consideration of multiple variables.