| Objective:To evaluate the morphological change of cartilage repair tissue using MOCART and the correlation with clinical Lysholm score 1 year after MACT.Methods:Nine patients (12 plug cartilages) underwent 3T MR examination at 1 year after MACT. The morphological appearance of repair tissue was evaluated by MOCART, and the correlation between MRI appearance and clinical Lysholm score was analyzed. To evaluate interobserver variability, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated.Results:We found that 12 cartilage repair tissue displayed the following morphological change 1 year after MACT. A complete filling of defect was found in 50%of 12 plug cartilages, and isointense signal intensities of repair tissue compare to the adjacent native cartilage in 66.7%of 12 plug cartilages; A complete or almost complete integration of the border zone with the adjacent cartilage was seen in 75%; An intact subchondral lamina was seen in 66.7% and a intact subchondral bone in 66.7%. An ICC value was 0.862 (ICC>0.81 indicates "almost perfect" agreement). The clinical Lysholm score after 1 year was 78.42±13.70. A statistically significant correlation was found in the variable "filling of the defect", however, the correlation did not found in other variables.Conclusion:The morphological MRI evaluation is an effective tool in the follow-up of cartilage repair tissue and shows correlation with clinical outcome to some extent.Objective:To evaluate the quantitative analyzing value of the biochemical zonal T2mapping at 3.0T MRI after MACT.Methods:Six patients (9 plug cartilages) treated with MACT underwent 3.0 Tesla MR scan system with follow-up periods of 3,6 and 12 months separately after surgery. Full-thickness, as well as zonal areas (deep and superficial layers), quantitative T2 values were calculated in the cartilage repair area and in control cartilage. Horizontal comparison of T2 values between cartilage repair tissue and control cartilage were used at each interval. Longitudinal comparison was used for cartilage repair tissue at 3,6,12 months after MACT.Results:Mean T2 values for cartilage repair tissue were (68.32±10.36)ms, (58.11±6.68)ms, (46.01±2.15)ms respectively at 3,6 and 12 months after MACT. We found T2 values of repair area were significantly higher than that of control area at 3 months and 6 months after MACT(P<0.05),but not at 12months (p=0.063). For zonal evaluation, T2 values in superficial and deep layer were (59.21±7.45)ms, (56.89±6.13)ms at 6 months; (49.78±2.46)ms,(42.23±4.52)ms at 12 months, respectively. There were significant differences between deep and superficial layer at 6 and 12 months (P＜0.05), a highly significant increase from deep to superficial cartilage layers was found in repair tissue after MACT. As the follow-up period extended, zonal T2 values for cartilage repair tissue showed statistically significant in T2 values at the different postoperative follow-up intervals (3,6,12month) (P＜0.05).Conclusion:T2mapping is an important indicator for monitoring the content of collagen,zonal T2mapping evaluation is a powerful tool to assess the repair efficacy in articular cartilage. |
PDF Full Text Request