Repeatability of Quantitative Knee Cartilage T1 , T2 , and T1ρ Mapping With 3D-MRI Fingerprinting

Xiaoxia Zhang; Hector L de Moura; Anmol Monga; Marcelo V W Zibetti; Richard Kijowski; Ravinder R Regatte

doi:10.1002/jmri.29068

Repeatability of Quantitative Knee Cartilage T₁ , T₂ , and T_1ρ Mapping With 3D-MRI Fingerprinting

J Magn Reson Imaging. 2023 Oct 26:10.1002/jmri.29068. doi: 10.1002/jmri.29068. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xiaoxia Zhang¹, Hector L de Moura¹, Anmol Monga¹, Marcelo V W Zibetti¹, Richard Kijowski¹, Ravinder R Regatte¹

Affiliation

¹ Center of Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.

PMID: 37885320
PMCID: PMC11045656 (available on 2025-04-26)
DOI: 10.1002/jmri.29068

Abstract

Background: Three-dimensional MR fingerprinting (3D-MRF) techniques have been recently described for simultaneous multiparametric mapping of knee cartilage. However, investigation of repeatability remains limited.

Purpose: To assess the intra-day and inter-day repeatabilities of knee cartilage T₁ , T₂ , and T_1ρ maps using a 3D-MRF sequence for simultaneous measurement.

Study type: Prospective.

Subjects: Fourteen healthy subjects (35.4 ± 9.3 years, eight males), scanned on Day 1 and Day 7.

Field strength/sequence: 3 T/3D-MRF, T₁ , T₂ , and T_1ρ maps.

Assessment: The acquisition of 3D-MRF cartilage (simultaneous acquisition of T₁ , T₂ , and T_1ρ maps) were acquired using a dictionary pattern-matching approach. Conventional cartilage T₁ , T₂ , and T_1ρ maps were acquired using variable flip angles and a modified 3D-Turbo-Flash sequence with different echo and spin-lock times, respectively, and were fitted using mono-exponential models. Each sequence was acquired on Day 1 and Day 7 with two scans on each day.

Statistical tests: The mean and SD for cartilage T₁ , T₂ , and T_1ρ were calculated in five manually segmented regions of interest (ROIs), including lateral femur, lateral tibia, medial femur, medial tibia, and patella cartilages. Intra-subject and inter-subject repeatabilities were assessed using coefficient of variation (CV) and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), respectively, on the same day and among different days. Regression and Bland-Altman analysis were performed to compare maps between the conventional and 3D-MRF sequences.

Results: The CV in all ROIs was lower than 7.4%, 8.4%, and 7.5% and the ICC was higher than 0.56, 0.51, and 0.52 for cartilage T₁ , T₂ , and T_1ρ , respectively. The MRF results had a good agreement with the conventional methods with a linear regression slope >0.61 and R² > 0.59.

Conclusion: The 3D-MRF sequence had high intra-subject and inter-subject repeatabilities for simultaneously measuring knee cartilage T₁ , T₂ , and T_1ρ with good agreement with conventional sequences.

Evidence level: 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 1.

Keywords: MRF; knee cartilage; quantitative mapping; repeatability.

Abstract

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