Characterization of Articular Cartilage Using Low-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Image

Articular cartilage is a very complex tissue with highly structured composition and functional biomechanical properties. These biomechanical properties were found to be degraded when the cartilage started to degenerate and lead to osteoarthritis (OA) disease. As the researchers are still searching for better treatments of OA, the characterization of the cartilage at its earliest stage could be used to introduce the early intervention of the disease. However, the property assessment of the articular cartilage is yet to be fully investigated. In particular, the grayscale of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image on cartilage could be one of the important evaluation in the tissue composition Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the potential application of low-field MRI image in order to examine the condition of the articular cartilage. The articular cartilage specimens (n = 36) obtained from the humeral heads of bovine shoulder joint were scanned with various sequences using 0.18 T Esaote C-scan MRI system. It was found that the grayscale value of the superficial zone was higher than the deep zone of the cartilage. The results of the study demonstrated the feasibility of the low-field MRI images on providing the useful information of the articular cartilage and could enhance the ability to mark the disease at a very early stage.