Abstract
The prevalence of osteoarthritis of the hand and wrist is high, and a thorough assessment
of even subtle cartilage injuries is necessary before surgical interventions. Although
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been established as an important diagnostic tool
for the evaluation of hand and wrist disorders, the focus has been on the assessment
of the triangular fibrocartilage complex, tendons, ligaments, and the detection of
avascular necrosis or occult fractures rather than on cartilage imaging. 3-T MR systems
have become more and more widely available and yield an improved signal-to-noise ratio
and thus a higher spatial resolution than 1.5-T systems. In principle, this should
be especially beneficial for depicting the thin cartilage layers of the hand and wrist.
This review focuses on cartilage imaging of the hand and wrist with 3-T MRI and addresses
these four topics: (1) the advantages of 3-T versus 1.5- and 1-T MRI, (2) dedicated
sequence protocols at 3 T including novel three-dimensional sequences, (3) imaging
findings in common cases of overuse or sports injury, and (4) functional cartilage
imaging techniques of the hand and wrist, for instance, delayed gadolinium-enhanced
MRI of the cartilage.
Keywords
magnetic resonance imaging - hand - wrist - cartilage - 3 Tesla - functional imaging
