MRI and articular cartilage evaluating lesions and postrepair tissue

Abstract

The ability of noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to obtain reproducible, accurate images of cartilage has enabled early detection of cartilage lesions and provides clinically relevant information when planning cartilage repair. With appropriate pulse sequencing, MRI depicts not only the integrity of the surface cartilage, which would be seen at arthroscopy, but also that of the subchondral bone, which would not be visualized at arthroscopic inspection. This information is vital when planning for complex, sometimes multistage, techniques that require careful size delineation of the cartilage lesion and evaluation of the surrounding subchondral bone. In addition to aiding in preoperative planning, these techniques offer an important objective evaluation of cartilage repair to be correlated with the more subjective clinical outcome instruments and provide insight into the biology of the repair process. Finally, newer matrix assessment techniques will disclose information about the ultrastructure of these individual cartilage repair procedures. © 2007 Humana Press Inc.