Assessment of Micro-Structure in Articular Cartilage and Using q-space MRI

组织工程化软骨的临床应用需要一种无创的评价方法来评价组织工程化软骨的生物物理特性以及生物化学特性。关节软骨由70%-80%的水组成，并具有致密的细胞外基质（ECM）。由于这种高含水率，认为水分子在组织中的扩散条件与材料性质相关。软骨组织中水分子的运动受到细胞膜和ECM（胶原蛋白、蛋白聚糖）的限制。本研究针对水分子在软骨中的受限扩散，建立了利用q空间MRI评价软骨组织微结构的方法。

Applying tissue engineered cartilage in a clinical setting requires non-invasive evaluation method to assess biophysical property of tissue-engineered cartilage as well as biochemical property. Articular cartilage is made up of 70%-80% water, and has dense extracellular matrixes (ECM). Because of this high rate of water content, it is considered that diffusion condition of water molecules in tissue is correlated with material properties. The movements of water molecules in cartilaginous tissue are restricted by cell membranes and the ECM (collagen, proteoglycan). In this study, we focused on the restricted diffusion of water molecules in the cartilage, and established the assessment method of micro-structure of the cartilaginous tissue using q-space MRI.