Purpose: To assess the potential clinical utility of in vivo susceptibility-weighted imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping of growth cartilage in the juvenile human knee at 7 T.
Methods: High-resolution gradient-echo images of the knees of six healthy children and adolescents aged 6 to 15 were acquired with a 28-channel coil at 7 T. Phase images from the coils were combined using a short echo-time reference scan method (COMPOSER).
Results: Veins oriented perpendicular to the static B0 field appeared doubled in susceptibility-weighted imaging, but not quantitative susceptibility mapping. Veins and layers in the cartilage were visible in all children up to the age of 13.
Conclusions: Phase imaging using susceptibility-weighted imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping allows the in vivo visualization of veins and layers in human growth cartilage. Magn Reson Med 79:2149-2155, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Keywords: cartilage; epiphyseal cartilage; layers; phase; quantitative susceptibility mapping; susceptibility-weighted imaging; veins.
© 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.