Editorial for “Characterization of Age‐Related and Sex‐Related Differences of Relaxation Parameters in the Intervertebral Disc Using MR‐Fingerprinting”

Abstract

C urrently, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used to provide functional information about the human body by assessing tissue composition, microstructure, and metabolites. Magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) is a novel framework that can simultaneously generate multiple quantitative property maps, including T1, T2, and T1ρ. The MRF acquisition process involves three steps: signal acquisition, dictionary generation, and pattern matching. During signal acquisition, scan parameters are varied to generate a unique signal evolution over time, forming a signal "fingerprint" that is matched to a known dictionary to generate tissue property maps. 1 There has been a growing interest in evaluating the application of MRF in musculoskeletal system. Cloos et al developed an MRF approach called Plug-and-Play MRF, which eliminates artifacts induced by inhomogeneous B1+ field and enables accurate quantitative PD, T1, and T2 maps near metal implants. 2 Sharafi et al found that MRF sequences can simultaneously measure the T1, T2, T1ρ, and B1+ maps of human articular cartilage and detect cartilage degradation in patients with mild osteoarthritis. 3 In this study, a 3D-MRF sequence was shown to be capable of simultaneously acquiring proton density, T1, T2, and T1ρ maps of intervertebral disc (IVD) in healthy subjects. 4 The application of MRF has also been validated in other areas such as the brain, heart, breast, prostate, and abdomen. However, there are still limitations to its widespread application, including pulse sequence optimization, computational power, and metrics for error analysis. 1 Aging is a significant risk factor for IVD degeneration. This study demonstrated a significant negative correlation between age and T1, T2, and T1ρ values of lumbar IVDs. 4 The results are similar to previous studies. Wang et al enrolled both asymptomatic subjects and patients with low back pain and found T2 and T1ρ values of lumbar IVDs were significantly negatively correlated with age. 5 Menezes-