Abbreviated quantitative UTE imaging in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

作者：Takeshi Fukuda, Kenneth Wengler, Dharmesh Tank, Seth Korbin, James M. Paci, David E. Komatsu, Megan Paulus, Mingqian Huang, Elaine S. Gould, Mark E. Schweitzer, Xiang He · 发表于：BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1186/s12891-019-2811-x · 被引用次数：15 · 研究领域：Knee injuries and reconstruction techniques、Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications、Cardiovascular Effects of Exercise

Abstract Background Existing ultrashort echo time magnetic resonance imaging (UTE MRI) methods require prohibitively long acquisition times (~ 20–40 min) to quantitatively assess the clinically relevant fast decay T 2 * component in ligaments and tendons. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and clinical translatability of a novel abbreviated quantitative UTE MRI paradigm for monitoring graft remodeling after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Methods Eight patients who had Graftlink™ hamstring autograft reconstruction were recruited for this prospective study. A 3D double-echo UTE sequence at 3.0 Tesla was performed at 3- and 6-months post-surgery. An abbreviated UTE MRI paradigm was established based on numerical simulations and in vivo validation from healthy knees. This proposed approach was used to assess the T 2 * for fast decay component ( $$ {T}_{2s}^{\ast } $$ T 2 s ∗ ) and bound water signal fraction ( f bw ) of ACL graft in regions of interest drawn by a radiologist. Results Compared to the conventional bi-exponential model, the abbreviated UTE MRI paradigm achieved low relative estimation bias for $$ {T}_{2s}^{\ast } $$ T 2 s ∗ and f bw over a range of clinically relevant values for ACL grafts. A decrease in $$ {T}_{2s}^{\ast } $$ T 2 s ∗ of the intra-articular graft was observed in 7 of the 8 ACL reconstruction patients from 3- to 6-months (− 0.11 ± 0.16...