[Analysis of the NMR signal for biological information in spinal diagnosis]

Discs of 23 patients and volunteers were examined for the purpose of obtaining T1 and T2-relaxation times. First of all, the signal characteristics of the surface coil were evaluated. The relaxation times of 100 discs were then measured by using standard spin echo sequences. There was a correlation between age and T2-values for healthy discs (R = -0.744). This was not found in case of degenerated discs. The mean value of T1 for healthy discs was found to be 825 ms. The results show a possibility of using relaxation measurements in routine diagnosis for the early identification of disc degeneration.