Zhang Lingtao, Mai Wenfeng, Su Yun, Mo Xukai, Song Xiubao, Shi Changzheng
Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
UItrasonic Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Eur J Med Res. 2025 Jun 24;30(1):521. doi: 10.1186/s40001-025-02763-5.
Surgical treatment is the primary modality for meniscal tears, and assessment of recovery after meniscal surgery is important in the development of a patient's treatment plan. Synthetic MRI (SyMRI) can simultaneously provide an objective assessment of meniscal changes and contrast-weighted images for subjective evaluation. This study aimed to assess whether SyMRI, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative mapping, could accurately evaluate postoperative recovery status, using Lysholm scores as a reference.
From July to November 2022, 49 patients undergoing arthroscopic meniscus tear repair were enrolled. Each underwent conventional MRI and sagittal SyMRI on a 3.0 T scanner preoperatively, and at 6 and 12 months postoperatively. All patients completed the Lysholm form before MRI. Twenty-seven patients completed all MRI sessions. Meniscal T1 and T2 relaxation times, as well as proton density (PD) values, were measured. One-way ANOVA assessed changes over time, while Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses evaluated associations with Lysholm scores and Stoller grades, respectively.
Only T2 relaxation times demonstrated significant differences across time points (P < 0.001). T2 relaxation times negatively correlated with Lysholm scores (r = - 0.772, P < 0.001), while T1 relaxation times and PD values showed no significant correlations. Stoller grade also showed a significant negative correlation with Lysholm scores (r = - 0.409, P < 0.001).
SyMRI-derived T2 relaxation time may serve as a quantitative biomarker for assessing postoperative meniscal healing. By enabling the acquisition of multiple MRI parameters in a single, time-efficient scan, SyMRI offers a noninvasive and practical tool for evaluating postoperative meniscal status and guiding clinical decision-making.
手术治疗是半月板撕裂的主要治疗方式，半月板手术后恢复情况的评估对制定患者治疗方案至关重要。合成磁共振成像（SyMRI）能够同时提供半月板变化的客观评估以及用于主观评价的对比加权图像。本研究旨在以Lysholm评分作为参考，评估利用定性和定量映射的SyMRI能否准确评估术后恢复状态。
2022年7月至11月，纳入49例行关节镜下半月板撕裂修复术的患者。每位患者在术前、术后6个月和12个月时在3.0 T扫描仪上接受常规MRI和矢状面SyMRI检查。所有患者在MRI检查前完成Lysholm表格填写。27例患者完成了所有MRI检查。测量半月板的T1和T2弛豫时间以及质子密度（PD）值。单向方差分析评估随时间的变化，而Pearson和Spearman相关性分析分别评估与Lysholm评分和Stoller分级的相关性。
仅T2弛豫时间在各时间点显示出显著差异（P < 0.001）。T2弛豫时间与Lysholm评分呈负相关（r = -0.772，P < 0.001），而T1弛豫时间和PD值无显著相关性。Stoller分级与Lysholm评分也呈显著负相关（r = -0.409，P < 0.001）。
SyMRI得出的T2弛豫时间可作为评估术后半月板愈合的定量生物标志物。通过在一次高效的扫描中获取多个MRI参数，SyMRI为评估术后半月板状态和指导临床决策提供了一种无创且实用的工具。
