Abstract
Background Talar osteochondral lesions are an important risk factor for the development of talar
osteoarthritis. Furthermore, osteochondral lesions might explain persistent ankle
pain. Early diagnosis of accompanying chondral defects is important to establish the
optimal therapy strategy and thereby delaying or preventing the onset of osteoarthritis.
The purpose of this review is to explain modern cartilage imaging with emphasis of
MR imaging as well as the discussion of more sophisticated imaging studies like CT-arthrography
or functional MR imaging.
Methods Pubmed literature search concerning: osteochondral lesions, cartilage damage, ankle
joint, talus, 2 D MR imaging, 3 D MR imaging, cartilage MR imaging, CT-arthrography,
cartilage repair, microfracture, OATS, MACT.
Results and Conclusion Dedicated MR imaging protocols to delineate talar cartilage and the appearance of
acute and chronic osteochondral lesions were discussed. Recent developments of MR
imaging, such as isotropic 3 D imaging that has a higher signal-to noise ratio when
compared to 2 D imaging, and specialized imaging methods such as CT-arthrography as
well as functional MR imaging were introduced. Several classifications schemes and
imaging findings of osteochondral lesions that influence the conservative or surgical
therapy strategy were discussed. MRI enables after surgery the non-invasive assessment
of the repair tissue and the success of implantation.
Key points
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Modern MRI allows for highly resolved visualization of the articular cartilage of
the ankle joint and of subchondral pathologies.
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Recent advances in MRI include 3 D isotropic ankle joint imaging, which deliver higher
signal-to-noise ratios of the cartilage and less partial volume artifacts when compared
with standard 2 D sequences.
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In case of osteochondral lesions MRI is beneficial for assessing the stability of
the osteochondral fragment and for this discontinuity of the cartilage layer is an
important factor.
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CT-arthrography can be used in case of contraindications of MRI and in unclear MRI
findings as further diagnostic approach.
Citation Format
Key words
ankle - cartilage - MR-imaging - osteochondral lesions - treatment effects - trauma
