Characterization of Knee Joint Diseases Using Medical Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

A great number of people all over the world suffer from knee joint diseases. The benefits of ultrasound (US) when compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are that the US is non-invasive, simple, rapid, accurate method, freely available, well accepted by patients, cheap and that it has the advantage of dynamic evaluation and real time imaging. The general objective of this research was to differentiate between the accurate diagnosable findings and characterization of US relative to MRI in knee joint diseases.In this study the researcher establishing criteria for diagnosing knee joint diseases (acute and chronic) with Doppler and conventional US modalities compared to MRI modality which is consider a gold standard in knee joint imaging. This was an observational cross-sectional study of 300 patients with different complains, attended to the Radiological Center, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia, from October 2011 to June 2015G, with knee joint pathology who were referral from different clinics to do US and MRI for comparison. 224 of them, male 192(85.7%) and female32(14.3%) US and MRI revealed variable diseases, the age range was from 12 to 80 yearsand 50 patients with normal knee joint were examined for literatures review and anatomy.The knee joint ultrasound examination has performed with GE-USA Medical System Logic 3 Expert 2007, using linear probes with high frequency range of 7.5 to 12MHz. The technique protocol meets the standard by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), The MRI machine was a GE 1.5 Tesla, field of view (FOV) 14 cm, using knee joint coil and 4/0.2 mm thickness/gap and about20 minutes total time (without Gradient Echo (GRE)). All patients’examinations are done in supine position by using routine examinations, 5 or 6 sequences. These sequences were used: (1) Axial fast spin echo ( FSE) T2-Weighted Fat saturation, (2) Coronal FSE T1W, (3) Coronal FSE proton density weighted ( PDW) Fatsat, (4) Sagittal spin echo ( SE) PDW, (5) Sagittal FSE T2W Fatsat, (6) +/- Sagittal T1*