T2 mapping and delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in cartilage (dGEMRIC) of glenohumeral cartilage in asymptomatic volunteers at 3Â T

To establish baseline T2* and T1^sub Gd^ values of glenohumeral cartilage at 3 T. Forty asymptomatic volunteers (mean age: 24.8â[euro][per thousand]±â[euro][per thousand]2.2 years) without shoulder abnormalities were included. The MRI protocol comprised a double-echo steady-state (DESS) sequence for morphological cartilage evaluation, a gradient-echo multiecho sequence for T2* assessment, and a gradient-echo dual-flip-angle sequence for T1^sub Gd^ mapping. Statistical assessment involved a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to identify the differences between various regions of the glenohumeral joint and intraclass correlation (ICC) analysis comparing repetitive T2* and T1^sub Gd^ measures to assess intra- and interobserver reliability. Both techniques revealed significant differences between superior and inferior glenohumeral cartilage demonstrating higher T2* (26.2 ms vs. 23.2 ms, P valueâ[euro][per thousand]