Non-invasive in vivo quantification of the medial tibial cartilage thickness progression in an osteoarthritis rabbit model with quantitative 3D high resolution micro-MRI 1

SummaryObjectiveTo develop a quantitative non-invasive in vivo three-dimensional (3D) high resolution (HR) micro-magnetic resonance imaging (μMRI) protocol to measure the medial tibial cartilage thickness (MT.ThC) in the normal rabbit and in the anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) rabbit model of osteoarthritis and quantify the progression of MT.ThC.MethodsThe left knee of 10 control and 40 operated rabbits was imaged in vivo with a 7 T μMRI system at 3 and 5 months after ACLT. A 3D fast low angle short (FLASH) fat-suppressed MRI protocol was implemented leading to 44 × 176 μm3 spatial resolution and to 44 μm3 isotropic voxel after cubic interpolation. Semi-automatic MT.ThC measurements were made in 3D, in four different locations, in vivo and longitudinally in both groups. At 5 months, gross macroscopy, visual analogical evaluation of the cartilage and histology were compared to the MR-based MT.ThC.ResultsAt 3 and 5 months, the MT.ThC measured in the minimum interbone distance area was the thinnest MR-based MT.ThC. It was significantly lower in the operated group and among the four evaluated MT.ThC, it was the most discriminative between the normal and the operated groups (P < 0.05). The MT.ThC measured in the minimum interbone distance area was also the most sensitive to change in the operated group (66.4% MT.ThC loss, P = 0.003) while no significant changes were observed in the control group.ConclusionQuantitative 3D HR μMRI allowed for non-invasive longitudinal MT.ThC measurements in four different locations in both the normal and the operated rabbits. We concluded the MT.ThC measured in the minimum interbone distance area reflected the severity of the disease and was the most effective to measure the progression of the medial tibial cartilage destruction.