3D MRI volume sizing of knee meniscus cartilage.

Meniscal replacement by allograft and meniscal regeneration through collagen meniscal scaffolds have been recently reported. To evaluate the effectiveness of a replaced or regrown meniscal cartilage, a method for measuring the size and function of the regenerated tissue in vivo is required. To solve this problem, we developed and evaluated a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to measure the volume of meniscal tissues. Twenty-one intact fresh cadaver knees were evaluated and scanned with MRI for meniscal volume sizing. The sizing sequence was repeated six times for each of 21 lateral and 12 medial menisci. The menisci were then excised and measured by water volume displacement. Each volume displacement measurement was repeated six times. The MRI technique employed to measure the volume of the menisci was shown to correspond to that of the standard measure of volume and was just as precise. However, the MRI technique consistently underestimated the actual volume. The average of the coefficient of variation for lateral volumes was 0.04 and 0.05 for the water and the MRI measurements, respectively. For medial measurements it was 0.04 and 0.06. The correlation for the lateral menisci was r = 0.45 (p = 0.04) and for the medial menisci it was r = 0.57 (p = 0.05). We conclude that 3D MRI is precise and repeatable but not accurate when used to measure meniscal volume in vivo and therefore may only be useful for evaluating changes in meniscal allografts and meniscal regeneration templates over time.