Age‐Dependent Changes in Knee Cartilage T 1 , T 2 , and T 1 p Simultaneously Measured Using MRI Fingerprinting

Background Magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) techniques have been recently described for simultaneous multiparameter cartilage mapping of the knee although investigation of their ability to detect early cartilage degeneration remains limited. Purpose To investigate age-dependent changes in knee cartilage T1, T2, and T1p relaxation times measured using a three-dimensional (3D) MRF sequence in healthy volunteers. Study Type Prospective. Subjects The study group consisted of 24 healthy asymptomatic human volunteers (15 males with mean age 34.9 ± 14.4 years and 9 females with mean age 44.5 ± 13.1 years). Field Strength/Sequence A 3.0 T gradient-echo-based 3D-MRF sequence was used to simultaneously create proton density-weighted images and T1, T2, and T1p maps of knee cartilage. Assessment Mean global cartilage and regional cartilage (lateral femur, lateral tibia, medial femur, medial tibia, and patella) T1, T2, and T1ρ relaxation times of the knee were measured. Statistical Tests Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compared cartilage T1, T2, and T1ρ relaxation times between different age groups, while Spearman correlation coefficients was used to determine the association between age and cartilage T1, T2, and T1ρ relaxation times. The value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Higher age groups showed higher global and regional cartilage T1, T2, and T1ρ. There was a significant difference between age groups in global cartilage T2 and T1ρ but no significant difference (P = 0.13) in global cartilage T1. Significant difference was also present between age groups in cartilage T2 and T1ρ for medial femur cartilage and medial tibia cartilage. There were significant moderate correlations between age and T2 and T1ρ for global cartilage (R2 = 0.63–0.64), medial femur cartilage (R2 = 0.50–0.56), and medial tibia cartilage (R2 = 0.54–0.66). Conclusion Cartilage T2 and T1p relaxation times simultaneously measured using a 3D-MRF sequence in healthy volunteers showed age-dependent changes in knee cartilage, primarily within the medial compartment.