Feasibility of MR Fingerprinting in a Longitudinal Study of Knee Articular Cartilage

Motivation: MRF is a rapid and robust novel method for MR multi-parametric mapping. Goal(s): To evaluate the feasibility of MRF T2 mapping in a longitudinal study of the knee articular cartilage. Approach: 26 patients with at least one focal cartilage lesion were recruited for two knee MRI examinations, including MRF and CPMG T2 mapping, one year apart. The change in T2 over the two time-points was analyzed. Results: A change in T2 values from baseline to one-year follow-up was observed in lesion segments, and the change measured by MRF and CPMG was highly correlated (r = 0.858, p = 0.001). Impact: This preliminary study suggests that MRF T2 mapping is feasible in longitudinal studies and can reliably capture changes in T2 over time resulting from pathophysiological changes in knee articular cartilage. This preliminary study will be extended to larger population.