Validation of acquisition parameters for human cartilage proteoglycan using highly accelerated T1rho for clinical use.

Motivation: Early cartilage degeneration includes change in proteoglycan content not detectable by standard clinical imaging tools but translation of quantitative spin-lattice relaxation time in a rotating frame (T1ρ) MRI has been technically challenging. Goal(s): We aim to determine optimal spin lock parameters for an in vivo cohort using a prototype compressed sensing 3D T1ρ implementation. Approach: Six post-surgical specimens imaged with the prototype sequence and combinations of eight spin lock times will be correlated to ground truth histological proteoglycan content. Impact: Assessment of optimal combination of spin lock times using direct validation to quantitative measures from histology will provide valuable recommendations for clinical cohorts.