Eur Radiol. 2025 Jul 25. doi: 10.1007/s00330-025-11806-8. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to establish normal knee cartilage T2-values at 1.5-Tesla, assess the influence of age and sex on T2-values, and compares T2-times between subjects with and without morphological cartilage changes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sagittal 2D T2-weighted multi-slice multi-echo sequence (MSME) sequence with automatic generation of a color-coded T2-map was acquired at 1.5-Tesla in 929 volunteers (ages 28-89) from the Study-of-Health-in-Pomerania TREND-1 cohort. Knee morphology was assessed with the modified Noyes Score in eight cartilage regions. T2 measurements were performed manually in seven cartilage regions, including superficial and deep cartilage layers.
RESULTS: Subjects with normal cartilage morphology (300 subjects) showed significant T2-value differences across cartilage regions (p ≤ 0.001), with higher values in femoral cartilage and superficial layers. T2-values increased with age (p ≤ 0.001), and women had higher T2-values in the femoral, tibial, and medial femorotibial compartments. The subjects with evidence of pathological cartilage morphology changes (629 subjects) had higher T2-values compared to the subjects with structurally normal knee cartilage in MRI (p ≤ 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides population-based 1.5-Tesla knee cartilage T2-values, showing age-related increases and higher values in superficial and femoral layers. Pathological cartilage morphology was associated with elevated T2-values.
KEY POINTS: Question This study examines early cartilage degeneration by establishing normal T2-values and analyzing how demographics and morphological cartilage changes impact these values. Findings T2-times were higher in superficial femoral cartilage but lower in retropatellar, tibial cartilage, and deep layers, increasing with age and pathological cartilage changes. Clinical relevance This study establishes normal T2-values for knee cartilage at 1.5-Tesla, identifies age- and sex-related variations, and associates elevated T2-values to morphological cartilage changes, enhancing cartilage health understanding and early diagnostic precision.
PMID:40715824 | DOI:10.1007/s00330-025-11806-8
