Improved assessment of cartilage repair tissue using fluid-suppressed ²³Na inversion recovery MRI at 7 Tesla: Preliminary results

Objectives To evaluate cartilage repair and native tissue using a three-dimensional (3D), radial, ultra-short echo time (UTE) ²³Na MR sequence without and with an inversion recovery (IR) preparation pulse for fluid suppression at 7 Tesla (T). Methods This study had institutional review board approval. We recruited 11 consecutive patients (41.5±11.8 years) from an orthopaedic surgery practice who had undergone a knee cartilage restoration procedure. The subjects were examined postoperatively (median=26 weeks) with 7-T MRI using: proton-T2 (TR/TE=3,000 ms/60 ms); sodium UTE (TR/TE=100 ms/0.4 ms); fluid-suppressed, sodium UTE adiabatic IR. Cartilage sodium concentrations in repair tissue ([Na ⁺] _R), adjacent native cartilage ([Na ⁺] _N), and native cartilage within the opposite, non-surgical compartment ([Na ⁺] _N2) were calculated using external NaCl phantoms. Results For conventional sodium imaging, mean [Na ⁺] _R, [Na ⁺] _N, [Na ⁺] _N2 were 177.8±54.1 mM, 170.1±40.7 mM, 172.2±30 mM respectively. Differences in [Na ⁺] _R versus [Na ⁺] _N (P=0.59) and [Na ⁺] _N versus [Na ⁺] _N2 (P=0.89) were not significant. For sodium IR imaging, mean [Na ⁺] _R, [Na ⁺] _N, [Na ⁺] _N2 were 108.9±29.8 mM, 204.6±34.7 mM, 249.9± 44.6 mM respectively. Decreases in [Na ⁺] _R versus [Na ⁺] _N (P=0.0.0000035) and [Na ⁺] _N versus [Na ⁺] _N2 (P=0.015) were significant. Conclusions Sodium IR imaging at 7 T can suppress the signal from free sodium within synovial fluid. This may allow improved assessment of [Na ⁺] within cartilage repair and native tissue. Key Points • NaIR magnetic resonance imaging can suppress signal from sodium within synovial fluid. • NaIR MRI thus allows assessment of sodium concentration within cartilage tissue alone. • This may facilitate more accurate assessment of repair tissue composition and quality.