Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Articular Cartilage

The emergence of newer pharmacotherapeutic agents and surgical cartilage resurfacing techniques is driving the need for imaging modalities capable of early, accurate, and reproducible lesion detection. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a noninvasive tool for direct 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) assessment of the articular cartilage in both clinical and research settings. MRI has largely overcome the shortcomings of the current gold standard, radiography, by allowing for the detection of preclinical disease and subtle early abnormalities prior to the onset of radiographic disease, when damage is still reversible. Current MRI techniques are either morphological (2D/3D qualitative and quantitative techniques) or compositional (matrix-assessment techniques that detect macromolecular changes prior to morphological changes). MRI is evolving as a complete answer to our cartilage-imaging requirements of lesion description, treatment planning, and outcome measurement as well as in various research settings.