Longitudinal assessment of autologous knee chondrocyte implantation using DL T2 Mapping and DOSMA framework

Motivation: Clinical adoption of quantitative MRI for cartilage repair monitoring is hindered by a lack of standardization in acquisition and tedious image analysis. Goal(s): Our goal was to longitudinally assess high-density autologous chondrocyte implantation (HD-ACI) in the knee using a fast and robust DL T2 mapping technique, correlating with clinical outcome. Approach: 15 HD-ACI patients (treated in femoral/patellar compartments) were longitudinally imaged and processed with a semi-automated pipeline, enabling a standardized regional analysis at a layer level. Results: DL T2 map reflected longitudinal significant changes in deep layer. Significant T2 decrease in femoral HD-ACI within the first follow-up year, correlated with good clinical progression. Impact: The demonstrated feasibility of DL T2 mapping coupled with a semi-automatic analysis to monitor changes after HD-ACI repair, allows for further investigation of the underlying biology of quantitative findings; advancing its adoption as cartilage healing biomarker in the clinical setting.