SODIUM MRI OF HUMAN ARTICULAR-CARTILAGE IN-VIVO

Preliminary results from in vivo sodium MRI of human patellar articula r cartilage are presented. Sodium images generated of an in vitro bovi ne patella clearly distinguish the region of proteoglycan depletion fr om the region of healthy cartilage. This provides the first evidence t hat sodium imaging may be used to detect changes due to osteoarthritis in vivo, The process of optimizing imaging time acid signal-to-noise ratio, as well as potential implications in the detection of osteoarth ritic change, are discussed.