In vivo follow-up of spontaneous repair of osteochondral defects in rabbit’s patellar groove with quantitative MRI

Introduction: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used in clinical settings to distinguish tissues, as it provides better contrast than plain radiography or computed tomography. The success of MRI has also increased due to its non-invasive nature and usability, as the images can be taken in any plane and from any part of the body needed. Quantitative MRI techniques, particularly techniques known as delayed Gadolinium Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cartilage (dGEMRIC) and T2relaxation time mapping are of great importance, as they are known to provide information on the proteoglycan content and collagen integrity in the cartilage tissue, respectively [1, 2], also in the clinical environment [3]. T1-relaxation time mapping without contrast agent provides information on tissue hydration [4]. In this study we used T2-weighted imaging, T1-mapping, and dGEMRIC to follow the spontaneous repair of osteochondral defect in the patellar groove of the rabbit.