Cartilage disorders: comparison of spin-echo, CHESS, and FLASH sequence MR images

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is known to be a suitable modality for the visualization of the hyaline cartilage and the fibrocartilage joint structures. To compare standard spin-echo (SE) images with water images obtained with the chemical shift selective (CHESS) sequence and with the fast low angle shot (FLASH) sequence, examinations were performed with all three sequences in eight volunteers and 28 patients with inflammatory degenerative and traumatic alterations of the knee, hip, and sacroiliac joints. Arthroscopic and/or surgical correlation were available in 16 patients; bone scanning and computed tomography of the sacroiliac joints were performed in four patients. CHESS-water and FLASH images proved superior to SE images in demonstrating hyaline cartilage disorders. There was no difference between SE, CHESS, and FLASH in the detection of fibrocartilage disorders. Short imaging times and satisfactory depiction of cartilage alterations make FLASH a promising method.