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T2 mapping of articular cartilage of the glenohumeral joint at 3.0 T in healthy volunteers: a feasibility study

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Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study was to assess the T2 values of the glenohumeral joint cartilage in healthy asymptomatic individuals at 3.0 T and to analyze the T2 profile of the humeral cartilage.

Materials and methods

This prospective study was approved by our institutional review board and written informed consent was obtained. Thirteen subjects (mean age, 28.6 years; age range, 24–33 years) were included and underwent multiecho spin-echo T2-weighted MR imaging and T2 mapping was acquired. Regions of interest were placed on the humeral cartilage and glenoid cartilage on oblique coronal images. T2 profiles of humeral cartilage were measured from the bone–cartilage interface to the articular surface. Intra-observer agreement was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Results

All 13 joints showed normal appearance on conventional T2-weighted images. The mean T2 values of humeral and glenoid cartilage were 50.5 ± 12.1 and 49.0 ± 9.9 ms, respectively. Intra-observer agreement was good, as determined by ICC (0.736). Longer T2 values were observed at the articular surface with a tendency to decrease toward the bone–cartilage interface. The mean cartilage T2 value was 69.03 ± 21.2 ms at the articular surface and 46.99 ± 19.6 ms at the bone–cartilage interface.

Conclusion

T2 values of the glenohumeral joint cartilage were similar to reported values of cartilage in the knee. The T2 profile of normal humeral cartilage showed a spatial variation with an increase in T2 values from the subchondral bone to the articular surface.

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Grant support

This study was partially supported by grant No. 02-2012-051 from the SNUBH Research Fund and partially by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2012R1A1A3010896).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 82 Gumi-ro 173 Beon-gil, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13620, Republic of Korea

    Yusuhn Kang & Jung-Ah Choi

  2. Department of Radiology, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, 40 Seokwoo-dong, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, 445-170, Republic of Korea

    Jung-Ah Choi

Authors
  1. Yusuhn Kang
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  2. Jung-Ah Choi
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Correspondence to Jung-Ah Choi.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Kang, Y., Choi, JA. T2 mapping of articular cartilage of the glenohumeral joint at 3.0 T in healthy volunteers: a feasibility study. Skeletal Radiol 45, 915–920 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-016-2398-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-016-2398-3

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