A dedicated two-channel phased-array receiver coil for high-resolution MRI of the rat knee cartilage at 7 T.

In the field of small animal studies, the array coil imaging has become increasingly important. In this paper, a dedicated two-channel array coil operating at 300 MHz (7 T) for high-resolution MRI (HR-MRI) of the rat knee cartilage is presented. The average gain in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to a 15-mm multipurpose surface coil was 2.

Macroscopic and microscopic features of synovial membrane inflammation in the osteoarthritic knee: correlating magnetic resonance imaging findings with disease severity.

Objective: To determine the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), macroscopic, and microscopic characteristics of synovial membrane inflammation, to study the relationship between disease severity and the degree of synovial inflammation on MRI and on macroscopic and microscopic examination, and to look for colocalization of chondral lesions and synovial inflammation.

Methods: Thirty-nine patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) were classified into 2 groups according to the severity of cartilage lesions as revealed by chondroscopy. Group 1 (n = 14) had mild cartilage lesion(s) without exposure of subchondral bone.