3.0 tesla mri

All the included patients were performed by 3.0 Tesla MRI according to the standard clinical knee MRI protocols (Siemens AG, Munich). All patients were scanned with coronal, sagittal and axial MR images (matrix: 512 × 512 or 256 × 256, FOV: maximum to 200 mm, slice thickness: 2.5–4 cm) /T1-weighted images (TR/TE = 400–750 msec / 17–30 msec), T2-weighted images (TR/TE = 1800–3500 msec / 60–100 msec) and a turbo spin-echo pulse sequence was used to obtain proton density-weighted images (TR/TE = 1800–3500 msec / 19–40 msec).

The wrists, proximal interphalangeal joints, and metacarpophalangeal joints were examined by 3.0 Tesla MRI (Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany). The patients were instructed to stay in a motionless position by placing their hands on their heads. The patients were injected with gadodiamide (Xian Wanlong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Beijing, China) at a concentration of 0.05 mM/kg of body weight (12 (link)). The imaging parameters were as follows: 25-26 ms repetition time, 50° flip angle, 0 mm gap, 1 mm slice thickness, and 6-8 min examination time. Radiologists at each institute (minimum 3 years of experience) were involved in the MRI scans.