Comparative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigations of Healthy People and Patients with Ankle Arthritis

This study intended to evaluate the shape of the ankle joint cartilage and damage to the ankle joint cartilage by measuring changes in the T ₂ value of the cartilage of healthy people without ankle arthritis and of patients with ankle arthritis. At the same time, the study intended to assess the utility of the T ₂ map image. The multi-echo technique was used for 20 healthy individuals who had experienced no clinically diagnosable ankle arthritis in the past or in the present and 20 patients who were found to have ankle arthritis in order to obtain T ₂ spin echo images of knee joint cartilage. Based on the images obtained, we measured changes in signal intensity for each area of the ankle joint cartilage. Additionally, we divided the talotibial joint into medial position, middle position, and lateral position in order to calculate the mean values of T ₂ in 18 spots including the anterior part, middle part, and posterior part of the cartilage of the neck bone and ankle bone. Mean T ₂ values were measured in the healthy group and the ankle arthritis patient group. According to the measurement results, the mean T ₂ value of the ankle arthritis patient group was higher than that of the healthy group in the anterior part, middle part, and posterior part of the neck bone and ankle bone in the medial position of the talotibial joint. In the middle position of the talotibial joint, the mean T ₂ value of the ankle arthritis patient group was higher than that of the healthy people group in the anterior part, the middle part, and the posterior part of the neck bone and ankle bone. Also in the lateral position of the talotibial joint, the mean T ₂ value of the ankle arthritis patient group was also found to be higher than that of the healthy group in the anterior part, middle part, and posterior part of the neck bone and ankle bone.