T1, T1ρ and T2* mapping of menisci using UTE imaging in patients six months after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Motivation: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscal tears are significant risk factors for the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Quantitative MRI tissue relaxation parameters offer insight into joint tissue integrity. Goal(s): To compare meniscal relaxation parameters using multi-parametric ultra-short echo-time (UTE) imaging between patients with ACL reconstruction (ACLR) six months after surgery and healthy controls (CON). Approach: Twenty-one ACLR patients and 17 CON participants underwent 3T MRI using 3D UTE sequences for T1,T1ρ,T2* mapping in four meniscal regions. Results: ACLR had higher T2* values across all four meniscal regions, higher T1 values in two regions and higher T1ρ values in one region compared to CON. Impact: UTE-based quantitative MRI enables objective quantification of meniscal integrity - by comparing knees at high risk of developing OA versus healthy knees. Our approach may be used to detect patients with early meniscal degenerative changes, precursing post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis.