On the measurement of multi-component T2 relaxation in cartilage by MR spectroscopy and imaging.

The multicomponent T(2) relaxation in bovine nasal cartilage (BNC) was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequence and microscopic magnetic resonance imaging (microMRI) method using a CPMG-SE imaging sequence. All experimental data were analyzed by the non-negative least square (NNLS) procedure. Only one T(2) component was found in BNC by both experimental methods (about 113 and 170 ms before and after being enzymatically digested by trypsin). Several experimental and specimen-related factors were investigated in this study, and it was found that some of them could produce artificial multi-component T(2), including the use of the standard MSME imaging sequence at certain imaging gradients.