Assessment of Osteoporosis in Lumbar Spine Using Ultrashort Echo Time Magnetization Transfer (UTE-MT) Imaging

The bone collagen matrix makes a crucial contribution to the mechanical properties of bone including elasticity and tensile strength. Its changes can be accessed by the ultrashort echo time magnetization transfer (UTE-MT) technique. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of the UTE-MT ratio (UTE-MTR) in the assessment of lumbar osteoporosis (OP). Our results demonstrated that the UTE-MTR is highly correlated with bone mineral density and Fracture Risk Assessment Tool scores and has a high ability to distinguish people with different bone masses, which indicates that the UTE-MTR has great potential in the diagnosis of the patient with OP.