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Morphological imaging and T2 and T2* mapping of hip cartilage at 7 Tesla MRI under the influence of intravenous gadolinium

  • Musculoskeletal
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Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the influence of intravenous gadolinium on cartilage T2 and T2* relaxation times and on morphological image quality at 7-T hip MRI.

Methods

Hips of 11 healthy volunteers were examined at 7 T. Multi-echo sequences for T2 and T2* mapping, 3D T1 volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) and double-echo steady-state (DESS) sequences were acquired before and after intravenous application of gadolinium according to a delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) protocol. Cartilage relaxation times were measured in both scans. Morphological sequences were assessed quantitatively using contrast ratios and qualitatively using a 4-point Likert scale. Student’s t-test, Pearson’s correlation (ρ) and Wilcoxon sign-rank test were used for statistical comparisons.

Results

Pre- and post-contrast T2 and T2* values were highly correlated (T2: acetabular: ρ = 0.76, femoral: ρ = 0.77; T2*: acetabular: ρ = 0.80, femoral: ρ = 0.72). Gadolinium enhanced contrasts between cartilage and joint fluid in DESS and T1 VIBE according to the qualitative (p = 0.01) and quantitative (p < 0.001) analysis. The delineation of acetabular and femoral cartilage and the labrum predominantly improved with gadolinium.

Conclusions

Gadolinium showed no relevant influence on T2 or T2* relaxation times and improved morphological image quality at 7 T. Therefore, morphological and quantitative sequences including dGEMRIC can be conducted in a one-stop-shop examination.

Key Points

• Hip cartilage T2 values correlate highly before and after gadolinium at 7 T

• Hip cartilage T2* values correlate highly before and after enhancement at 7 T

• Morphological hip cartilage imaging benefits from intravenous gadolinium at 7 T

• The delineation of acetabular and femoral cartilage can be improved by gadolinium

• Morphological and quantitative sequences including dGEMRIC can be combined as a one-stop-shop examination

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Abbreviations

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

T:

Tesla

SD:

Standard deviation

BMI:

Body mass index

RF:

Radio frequency

FLASH:

Fast low-angle shot

DREAM:

Dual refocusing echo acquisition mode

FOV:

Field of view

TE:

Echo time

TR:

Repetition time

DESS:

Double-echo steady state

VIBE:

Volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination

dGEMRIC:

Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage

ROI:

Region of interest

CR:

Contrast ratio

SSFP:

Steady-state free precession

FISP:

Fast imaging steady precession

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Desmond Tse (Maastricht University, The Netherlands) for providing the source code of the DREAM sequence.

This work was supported by a research grant (“IFORES”) from the University Duisburg-Essen, Germany, awarded to the first author. Different results of the same study population have already been published in “7 Tesla quantitative hip MRI: T1, T2 and T2* mapping of hip cartilage in healthy volunteers” (Lazik A et al., Eur Radiol. 2015 Aug 28. DOI 10.1007/s00330-015-3964-0).

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Dr. med. Andrea Lazik-Palm. The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article. No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (patients) in this study. Methodology: prospective, experimental, performed at one institution.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Germany

    Andrea Lazik-Palm, Christina Geis, Juliane Goebel, Mark E. Ladd & Jens M. Theysohn

  2. Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Oliver Kraff, Sören Johst, Mark E. Ladd & Harald H. Quick

  3. Division of Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

    Mark E. Ladd

  4. High-Field and Hybrid MR Imaging, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany

    Harald H. Quick

Authors
  1. Andrea Lazik-Palm
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  2. Oliver Kraff
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  3. Christina Geis
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  8. Jens M. Theysohn
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Correspondence to Andrea Lazik-Palm.

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Lazik-Palm, A., Kraff, O., Geis, C. et al. Morphological imaging and T2 and T2* mapping of hip cartilage at 7 Tesla MRI under the influence of intravenous gadolinium. Eur Radiol 26, 3923–3931 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-016-4247-0

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