T2 mapping of cartilage with triple-echo steady state MR sequence

The goal of this work was to analyze the clinical and technical usability of recently introduced steady state free precession T
₂
mapping technique. The TESS-T
₂
values were compared to conventionally used multi-echo spin-echo sequence (usually referred to as CPMG). The results showed that although T
₂
values determined by TESS are lower than those of CPMG, they are highly correlated between two methods. Both, clinical and experimental studies might benefit from the speed of the 3D-TESS. The results of this study showed the clinical usability of a 3D-TESS sequence for T
₂
mapping of human articular knee cartilage. 3D-TESS provides highly correlated T
₂
-values to conventional CMPG sequence with some additional benefits, such as dramatic shortening of acquisition time and fair insensitivity to B
₁
and B
₀
variations. Also, T
₂
values acquired with 3D-TESS can differentiate between reference and impaired cartilage.