PRESSURE DEVICES FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF STRESS BEHAVIOR OF JOINT CARTILAGE USING MAGNETIC-RESONANCE MICROSCOPY

High-resolution MRI offers a unique opportunity to non-invasively imag e collagen-mediated structures within articular cartilage. Visualizati on of the stress response of the anisotropic collagenous network in pa rticular, provides more comprehensive knowledge of the biomechanical p roperties and integrity of articular cartilage, which in turn form a v ery promising starting point for the present ongoing developments in t he noninvasive diagnosis of early stages or arthrosis, The detection o f stress-induced changes in the collagenous network, however, requires an MRI probe that permits in vitro measurements under conditions simi lar to those in the joint, and different orientations relative to the static magnetic field. Here we describe two MR microimaging probes tha t enable the investigation of the viscoelastic properties of articular cartilage via visualization of the pressure-dependent modifications o f anisotropic collagenous structures.