The goal of this proposal is to develop and validate a comprehensive examination of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of chronic disability on the United States, affecting approximately 10% of those over 30 years old. Over the past 20 years, study of osteoarthritis with imaging has been primarily limited to evaluation with radiography. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), with its multi-planar capability and multiple contrast mechanisms, has emerged as the most promising non-invasive method to study osteoarthritis. The examination of osteoarthritis includes easement of articular cartilage integrity as well as other important structures. Osteoarthritis affects many joints, but is most evident in the knee. MRI has the potential to non-invasively evaluate both cartilage morphology and physiology, which is crucial to follow the effects of new osteoarthritis therapies. Current methods, however, suffer from long scan times that limit the amount of information that can be acquired in a reasonable examination time. As a result, there is a gap between what is feasible and what is currently applied in osteoarthritis studies. Our goal in this proposal is to eliminate the gap between the potential of MRI and current practice in evaluation of articular cartilage in osteoarthritis. Our group has pioneered many of the components that will be useful in the comprehensive evaluation of cartilage morphology and physiology in osteoarthritis, including rapid imaging of cartilage structure and rapid relaxation time measurements. In this proposal we will integrate those components and validate them into a comprehensive thirty-minute knee MRI exam for osteoarthritis progression.
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