Evaluation of an MRI method to determine hydration states of tendons

As water content is a determinant of the material properties of tendons and may affect sports performance and injury risk. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the reliability and sensitivity of an MRI based method to quantify the hydration state of a tendon. For this study twenty porcine digital flexor tendons were utilized. All samples were examined on a MR scanner using three 3D ultra- short echo time sequences. With the applied sequences it was possible to determine a decrease in water content of the tendons. In addition, the methods showed good inter session reliability. Further investigations are needed to improve the upper and lower limit of resolution regarding the physiological hydration state.