# Imaging Biomarkers of Knee Osteoarthritis

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $588,710

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease, affecting more than 27 million people in the United States
alone. By 2030 approximately 67 million people will be affected by OA. This large affected population and the
severe consequent debility of OA lead to significant expenses to the health care system. OA is characterized
by biochemical, structural and morphologic degradation of components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of
articular cartilage. The ECM is composed of primarily two groups of macromolecules including proteoglycan
(PG) and collagen fibers. Early diagnosis of cartilage degeneration would require the ability to non-invasively
detect changes in PG concentration and collagen integrity before morphological changes occur. T1ρ and T2
relaxation times are affected by these pathological processes and are the most widely used biochemical
cartilage MRI sequences worldwide. Several researchers have demonstrated that the T1ρ relaxation time is
more sensitive to proteoglycan content of the cartilage, while T2 relaxation time is more sensitive to collagen
orientation and integrity of network and hydration. These imaging biomarkers have potential to detect early
stages of the disease (pre-clinical), quantitatively assess disease severity, monitor disease progression and
possibly monitor OA therapy.
The overarching goal of this proposal is to develop, evaluate and translate highly accelerated 3D-T1ρ and T2
mapping (each protocol under 5 minutes) for in-vivo knee OA applications on a standard clinical 3T scanner
employing novel compressed sensing (CS) and parallel imaging (PI) strategies. The proposed accelerated 3D-
T1ρ and T2 mapping techniques can be easily incorporated into routine clinical protocols for biochemical
assessment of cartilage in addition to standard morphological evaluation and could serve as future imaging
biomarkers for disease modifying therapies for OA. The outcome of this proposed study will significantly impact
our ability for personalized treatment regimens and possibly prevent the development of premature OA. Finally,
we intend on disseminating the sequences to other academic sites for widespread implementation and future
multicenter studies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10134796
- **Project number:** 5R01AR068966-05
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Ravinder Regatte
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $588,710
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10134796

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10134796, Imaging Biomarkers of Knee Osteoarthritis (5R01AR068966-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10134796. Licensed CC0.

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