Evaluation of ultrashort–echo time (UTE) MR imaging signal intensity patterns and identification of UTE signal sources may aid clinical assessment of the osteochondral junction and may provide new ... PurposeTo image cartilage-bone interfaces in naturally occurring and experimentally prepared human cartilage-bone specimens at 3 T by using ultrashort echo time (TE) (UTE) and conventional pulse se...

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to provide a quantitative means of evaluating the intrinsic T1 and T2* values of the Achilles tendon through the measurement of T1 recovery and T2* relaxation times, respectively, using ultrashort-TE (UTE) MRI at 3 T with histologic correlation.MATERIALS AND METHODS. Six cadaveric specimens underwent MRI at 3 T. The MRI protocol included standard MRI and UTE pulse sequences. For T1 measurement, a saturation recovery time method was applied (saturation recovery time range, 10–1,600 milliseconds), and for T2* measurements, a constant TR–varying TE method was used (TE, 100 microseconds–15 milliseconds). An analysis algorithm written in Matlab was executed offline on axial DICOM images for the T1 and T2* measurements in areas of normal tendon. The cadaveric specimens were subsequently frozen to –40°C. They were sectioned with the slice thickness corresponding to the MR images. Anatomic sections were photographed and visually inspected. Specimens were then processed fo...