High Contrast Cartilaginous Endplate Imaging Using Dual-Inversion Recovery Prepared Ultrashort Echo Time (DIR-UTE) Sequence

The cartilaginous endplate (CEP) plays a key role in maintaining the normal function of the intervertebral disc (IVD) by acting as a bridge for the transport of nutrients into the IVD cells. In this study, we developed a 3D dual inversion recovery prepared ultrashort echo time (DIR-UTE) sequence for high contrast CEP imaging and compared its performance with previously developed techniques on a clinical 3T scanner. We found that the proposed DIR-UTE sequence demonstrated the best image contrast for CEP imaging, which is highly promising for future clinical use.