Usefulness of Sweep Imaging With Fourier Transform for Evaluation of Cortical Bone in Diabetic Rats

Background Diabetes decreases bone strength, possibly because of cortical bone changes. Sweep imaging with Fourier transform (SWIFT) has been reported to be useful for cortical bone evaluation. Purpose To evaluate cortical bone changes in diabetic rats using SWIFT, assess the usefulness of this technique through comparisons with microcomputed tomography (μCT) and conventional MRI, and clarify the mechanism underlying cortical bone changes using histomorphometry Study Type Animal cohort. Animal Model 8‐week‐old male Wistar/ST rats (N = 36) were divided into diabetes (induced by streptozotocin injection) and control groups. Field Strength/Sequence 7.04T MRI, SWIFT. Assessment Six animals from each group were sacrificed at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after injection. Tibial bones were extracted and evaluated using μCT and MRI. The cortical bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using μCT. Proton density‐weighted imaging (PDWI) and SWIFT were also performed. The signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) was calculated for each acquisition. The bone formation rate was evaluated using histomorphometry. Statistical Tests Findings at each timepoint were compared using Mann–Whitney U‐tests. Results Cortical BMD was significantly lower in the diabetes group than in the control group only at 8 weeks (P