Time-saving opportunities in knee osteoarthritis: T2 mapping and structural imaging of the knee using a single 5-min MRI scan

Objectives To assess the discriminative power of a 5-min quantitative double-echo steady-state (qDESS) sequence for simultaneous T-2 measurements of cartilage and meniscus, and structural knee osteoarthritis (OA) assessment, in a clinical OA population, using radiographic knee OA as reference standard. Methods Fifty-three subjects were included and divided over three groups based on radiographic and clinical knee OA: 20 subjects with no OA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade (KLG) 0), 18 with mild OA (KLG2), and 15 with moderate OA (KLG3). All patients underwent a 5-min qDESS scan. We measured T-2 relaxation times in four cartilage and four meniscus regions of interest (ROIs) and performed structural OA evaluation with the MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score (MOAKS) using qDESS with multiplanar reformatting. Between-group differences in T-2 values and MOAKS were calculated using ANOVA. Correlations of the reference standard (i.e., radiographic knee OA) with T-2 and MOAKS were assessed with correlation analyses for ordinal variables. Results In cartilage, mean T-2 values were 36.1 +/- SD 4.3, 40.6 +/- 5.9, and 47.1 +/- 4.3 ms for no, mild, and moderate OA, respectively (p < 0.001). In menisci, mean T-2 values were 15 +/- 3.6, 17.5 +/- 3.8, and 20.6 +/- 4.7 ms for no, mild, and moderate OA, respectively (p < 0.001). Statistically significant correlations were found between radiographic OA and T-2 and between radiographic OA and MOAKS in all ROIs (p < 0.05). Conclusion Quantitative T-2 and structural assessment of cartilage and meniscus, using a single 5-min qDESS scan, can distinguish between different grades of radiographic OA, demonstrating the potential of qDESS as an efficient tool for OA imaging.