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Published on: March 14, 2018
Interrelationships between 3-T-MRI-derived cortical and trabecular bone structure parameters and
Ahi Sema Issever1, Thomas M Link, David Newitt
1Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Research Group, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, China Basin, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. ahi-sema.issever@charite.de
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
|August 6, 2010
Summary
3-Tesla MRI shows promise for assessing bone health by correlating well with quantitative computed tomography (QCT) bone mineral density (BMD) measures, particularly in cortical thickness and trabecular number.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Radiology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- 3-Tesla (3T) MRI offers higher signal-to-noise ratios than 1.5T MRI for bone imaging.
- Assessing cortical and trabecular bone measures is crucial for understanding bone health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare 3T MRI-derived bone measures with quantitative computed tomography (QCT)-derived bone mineral density (BMD).
Main Methods:
- 51 postmenopausal women underwent 3T MRI of the distal radius, distal tibia, and calcaneus.
- Apparent bone volume/total volume, trabecular number, trabecular thickness, and trabecular separation were derived from MRI.
- Cortical thickness was measured at the distal radius and tibia.
- MRI measures were compared to QCT-derived BMD of the spine, hip, and radius.
Main Results:
- Significant correlations were found between spine BMD and MRI-derived cortical thickness at the radius and tibia.
- Spine BMD also correlated significantly with MRI-derived apparent trabecular number at the radius and tibia.
- An inverse correlation was observed between cortical thickness and apparent bone volume/total volume, and between cortical thickness and apparent trabecular thickness within the first 10 mm at the radius.
Conclusions:
- 3T MRI is a potentially powerful tool for evaluating bone microstructure.
- MRI-derived measures show significant correlations with QCT-derived BMD, suggesting its utility in bone assessment.
