Abstract
High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the interphalangeal joints of the fingers is being employed to study arthritis. To facilitate this research, a clear understanding of the structures visualisable by MRI is necessary. A gradient echo (GE) sequence was developed that produced good contrast between cartilage and other joint structures. These detailed images, with an in-plane resolution of 200 × 100 μm, enable resolution of three cartilage zones which can be interpreted as a superficial layer at the cartilage/cartilage interface, an intermediate layer and calcified cartilage in contact with bone; these correlate well with known anatomy. Further analysis of the images indicates that although a chemical shift artifact causes changes in the images at the field strength used (0.5 T), it does not cause enough distortion to necessitate suppression of the effect. Furthermore, the only detectable susceptibility artifact at these low field strengths was a loss of signal in bone trabeculae at the bone/cartilage interface. There is clearly potential in the study of the articular structures, in particular cartilage, in detail, using high-resolution MRI.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker LL, Hajek PC, Bjökengren A, Galbraith R, Sartoris DJ, Gelberman RH, Resnick D (1987) High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the wrist: normal anatomy. Skeletal Radiol 16:128
Beltran J, Caudill JL, Leigh AH, Kantor SM, Hudson PN, Noto AM, Buran AS (1987) Rheumatoid arthritis: magnetic resonance imaging manifestations. Radiology 165:153
Bydder GM, Young IR (1985) Clinical use of the partial saturation and saturation recovery sequences in MR imaging. J Comp Assist Tomogr 9:1020
Checkley D, Johnstone D, Taylor K, Waterton JC (1989) High-resolution NMR. Imaging of an antigen induced arthritis in the rabbit knee. Mag Res Med 11:221
Cole PR, Jasani MK, Wood B, Freemont AJ, Morris GA (1990) High-resolution, high-field MR imaging of joints: unexpected features in proton images of cartilage. Br J Radiol 63:907
Gardner DL (1972) Heberden Oration 1971. The influence of microscopic technology on knowledge of cartilage surface structure. Ann Rheum Dis 31:235
Gilkeson G, Polisson R, Sinclair H, Volger J, Rice J, Caldwell D, Spritzer C, Martinez S (1988) Early detection of carpal erosions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study with magnetic resonance imaging. J Rheumatol 15 (9):1361
Koenig H, Lucas D, Meissner R (1986) The wrist: a preliminary report on high-resolution MR imaging. Radiology 160:463
Lehner KB, Rechl HP (1989) Normal morphology and degeneration of hyaline articular cartilage in MR imaging: an in-vitro study in bovine patellae and human arthritic femoral heads. Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Amsterdam, p 308
Majundar S, Genant H (1990) Quantitation of susceptibility effects in vertebral body bone marrow: correlation of trabecular bone density and 1/T *2 . 7th Euro Cong NMR in Med and Biol, Strasbourg, 2–5 May, p 411
Maroudas A (1972) Physicochemical properties of articular cartilage (Ch. 4). In: Freeman MAR (ed) Adult articular cartilage. Pitman Medical, London
Meachim G, Stockwell RA (1972) The matrix (Ch. 1). In: Freeman MAR (ed) Adult articular cartilage. Pitman Medical, London
Pittard S, Fry ME, Ellis RE, Moore EA, Vennart W (1989) A low-cost magnetic resonance imaging system. J Phys [E] 22:574
Sebag GH, Moore SG (1989) Effect of trabecular bone on the appearance of marrow in gradient echo imaging of the appendicular skeleton. The 13th Soc of Mag Res in Med, Amsterdam
Wradzilo W, Schneider S, Brambs HJ, Gottschlich KW (1990). High-resolution MRI of the hip using a field echo sequence. 147, Euro Cong of NMR in Med and Biol, Strasbourg
Yarrow-Gulatee T (1987) An in-vitro study of human synovial fluid in arthritis. MPhil Thesis, University of Exeter, UK
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fry, M.E., Jacoby, R.K., Hutton, C.W. et al. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the interphalangeal joints of the hand. Skeletal Radiol. 20, 273–277 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02341664
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02341664