• G Cardone, G B Minio Paluello, G Lo Presti, O Gagliardo, M Gallucci, and M Castrucci.
• Diagnostica per Immagini, Ospedale San Raffaele, Roma.
• Radiol Med. 1997 Sep 1; 94 (3): 150-6.

PurposeWe compared GRE T1 3D FS sequence with other acquisition techniques available on medium field strength MR units (.5 T) in patellofemoral cartilage studies.Material And MethodsThe imaging protocol scheduled Spin Echo (SE), Inversion Recovery (STIR), Gradient Echo (GRE), Turbo Spin Echo (TSE), Turbo-Inversion Recovery (Turbo-STIR), Gradient Spin Echo (GRASE) and Echo Planar (EPI) sequences, in some cases combined with Fat Suppression (FS) or Magnetization Transfer Contrast (MTC) sequences when suitable. In vitro studies were carried out for signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) evaluation, and in vivo on 10 healthy volunteers for contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) evaluation between cartilage, bone marrow and fluid. The exams were carried out on MR equipment operating at .5 T, with 15 mT/m power gradients.ResultsIn both in vitro and in vivo studies, GRE T1 3D FS sequences yielded better results in SNR and CNR than other sequences. The GRE T1 3D FS technique combines the advantages of the increased resolution of 3D images with the increased dynamic range of fat suppressed images, for better CNR between cartilage, fluid and bone marrow.ConclusionGRE T1 3D FS sequences are the MR acquisition technique of choice in the assessment of the hyaline cartilage of the knee, even at medium field strength.

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