Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Creeping Substitution in Grafted Bone
Using grafted bone from a rabbit, we investigated experimentally whether creeping substitution of grafted bone is detectable by Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The bone marrow/muscle ratio in T1-weighted images showed a correlation with the ratio of fat cells. The T1-weighted images of the free grafted bone initially showed a high signal intensity due to the high ratio of fat cells. This signal intensity decreased due to new bone formation. Therefore, T1-weighted images can demonstrate histological changes in grafted bone.
