Human imaging of phosphorus in cortical and trabecular bone in vivo
Robson MD., Gatehouse PD., Bydder GM., Neubauer S.
AbstractPhosphorus was imaged in vivo in human cortical and trabecular bone and the T1 and T were measured. An ultrashort TE (UTE) pulse sequence (TE = 70 μm) was used with half pulse excitation and radial mapping of k‐space from the center out. T was measured using multiple echo times and T1 was measured both by saturation recovery and by a method using different RF pulse amplitudes. Seven normal subjects (32–85 years) were examined. Phosphorus was imaged, with a true in‐plane resolution of 2.9 × 2.9 mm and a signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of 19:1, in both cortical and trabecular bone. The mean T value was 207 ± 12 μs, and the mean T1 value was 8.6 ± 3.0 sec. Images and measurements were obtained in realistic times on a clinical MR system. This may provide a new approach to characterizing disease of bone. Magn Reson Med 51:888–892, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.