Pediatric and Adolescent MSK Radiology
Jie C Nguyen1
1Children’s hospital of Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania, Philadephia, PA, United States

Synopsis

Keywords: Musculoskeletal: Cartilage, Cross-organ: Pediatric, Image acquisition: Sequences

MRI is routinely utilized to complement the clinical assessment of children with a diversity of musculoskeletal pathologies. Current session will highlight 2 major hot topics in pediatric musculoskeletal radiology: (a) radiation-free bone imaging, and (b) maturation-dependent microstructural changes that should not be mistaken for pathology. For radiation-free bone imaging, current application, potential future uses, and limitations of ultrashort TE (UTE) and zero TE (ZTE) in children will be discussed. For maturation-dependent microstructural changes, use of T2-relaxation mapping (T2-mapping) of cartilage and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the growth plates will be reviewed.

MRI is routinely utilized to complement the clinical assessment of children with a diversity of musculoskeletal pathologies. Current session will highlight 2 major hot topics in pediatric musculoskeletal radiology: (a) radiation-free bone imaging, and (b) maturation-dependent microstructural changes that should not be mistaken for pathology. For radiation-free bone imaging, current application, potential future uses, and limitations of ultrashort TE (UTE) and zero TE (ZTE) in children will be discussed. For maturation-dependent microstructural changes, use of T2-relaxation mapping (T2-mapping) of cartilage and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the growth plates will be reviewed.

Acknowledgements

Research funding from RSNA Research Foundation Seed Grant, Children’s Cancer Research Fund, NIH RO1 HD104720-01, NIH RO1 HL 149722-01, and University of Pennsylvania Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships

References

Breighner et al. 2018. Zero echo time imaging of the shoulder: Enhanced osseous detail by using MR imaging. Radiology. 286 (3). 960-966.

Finkenstaedt et al. 2019. Ultrashort time-to-echo (UTE) 3-Tesla MRI for the detection of spondylolysis in human cadavers: Comparison with CT. Invest Radiol. 54(1): 32-38.

Nguyen et al. 2018. Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans: Cartilage T2 mapping of stable medial femoral condyle lesions. Radiology. 288: 536-543.

Rajapakse et al. 2015. Volumetric cortical bone porosity assessment with MR imaging: Validation and clinical feasibility. 276 (2): 526-535.

Nguyen et al. 2022. MRI evaluation of pediatric tibial eminence fractures: Comparison between conventional and "CT-like" ultrashort echo time (UTE) images. 51: 1603-1610.

Jaramillo et al. 2022. Diffusion tensor imaging of the knee to predict childhood growth. 303(3): 655-663.

Nguyen et al. 2018. Maturation-related changes in T2 relaxation times of cartilage and meniscus of the pediatric knee joint at 3T. 211 (6): 1369-1375.

Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 31 (2023)