High-resolution and rapidly-acquired T2 mapping using deep-learning reconstruction and parallel imaging in evaluation of knee cartilage

T2 mapping reflects biochemical composition of tissues such as cartilage, tendon, ligament, meniscus without requirement for a contrast injection or special MRI imaging hardware, and there are numerous available techniques for post-processing of T2 images. However, scan time and signal-to-noise ratio are critical factors in clinical implementation. With the development of parallel imaging in combination of deep-learning based reconstruction algorithm, high-resolution and reproducible T2 mapping was potentially achieved to identify cartilage injury or degeneration in spite that T2 relaxation time cannot directly refer to previous studies but showed high consistency with the same acceleration factor for T2 mapping.