Validating accelerated T1rho dispersion measurement with samples from spontaneous human osteoarthritis

Motivation: Validation of compressed sensing accelerated T1rho dispersion measurement of spontaneously degenerated human cartilage tissue samples. Goal(s): To study the effect the data reduction has on the ability to detect differences between the intact and degenerated articular cartilage specimens at different spin-lock amplitudes. Approach: T1rho dispersion measurement with compressed sensing technique for reconstruction. Results: Four-fold acceleration of T1rho dispersion measurement by compressed sensing approach was feasible without loss in the sensitivity to osteoarthritic changes within the articular cartilage. Differences were significant between intact and OA groups in the superficial and transitional zones, and T1rho correlated moderately with the reference methods. Impact: Compressed sensing allowed reducing the scan-time required for measurement of T1rho dispersion, while still retaining the ability to detect degenerative changes in articular cartilage. Thus, the study brings T1rho dispersion measurements closer to clinical viability.