T1rho Dispersion in Proteoglycan-depleted Swine Spine Disc

T1rho imaging has been used to probe relatively slow macromolecular processes, making it a practical tool to gain information about water spin dynamics and interactions with endogenous macromolecules. We measured the dispersion of T1rho with different spin-lock fields in the intervertebral disc of swine spine specimens before and after the treatment to induce proteoglycan loss, a sign of early disc degeneration. Analysis revealed elevated T1rho values in all proteoglycan-depleted discs at each spin-lock field, and that post-treatment T1rho changes increase at a higher spin-lock field.