{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T08:31:55Z","timestamp":1787041915570,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Meniscal pathology is a common consequence of knee injury and a precursor of osteoarthritis, but qualitative MRI grading cannot reliably distinguish low-grade intrasubstance degeneration from more advanced pathology. Quantitative T2 relaxation value (T2RV) mapping is an established cartilage marker, but internal-control normalisation within the same meniscus has not been formalised for incidental meniscal pathology. We hypothesised that pathologic meniscal regions would show elevated T2RV relative to internal-control tissue. Methods: In this retrospective, single-centre study, 61 pathologic meniscal lesions with arthroscopic correlation (12 tears, 40 repaired, 9 myxoid\/intrasubstance degeneration) in 55 patients (mean age 47.1 \u00b1 8.8 years) underwent a cartilage T2RV MRI protocol. A pathologic and a remote internal-control region of interest (ROI) were placed on the T2RV colour map for each lesion; the T2RV endpoint was (pathologic \u2212 internal-control ROI T2RV)\/internal-control ROI T2RV \u00d7 100%. Groups were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank and Kruskal\u2013Wallis (Dunn\u2019s post hoc) tests and multivariable linear regression. Results: Pathologic ROI T2RV exceeded internal-control ROI T2RV (p &lt; 0.001; mean elevation 55.7%). The endpoint varied among pathology groups (p &lt; 0.001): degeneration showed the smallest elevation (17.5%), while repair (60.0%) and tear (69.9%) were similarly higher and indistinguishable, remaining independently associated with a higher endpoint than degeneration after multivariable adjustment. Longer postoperative intervals were associated with a lower endpoint among repaired lesions (\u03b2 = \u22126.27 points\/100 days). Conclusions: Internal-control-normalised T2RV mapping is a promising quantitative marker of meniscal tissue status that may complement conventional MRI and clinical assessment, with T2RV elevation differing among myxoid\/intrasubstance degeneration, tear, and repaired meniscus within this cohort. Prospective, multicenter validation is warranted before clinical adoption.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16162564","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T10:39:01Z","timestamp":1786703941000},"page":"2564","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Internal-Control-Normalized T2 Mapping of Meniscal Abnormalities on a Cartilage MRI Protocol: An Exploratory Retrospective Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-3680-0168","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wenwen","family":"Ni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6874-380X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mun Sze","family":"Khaw","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3082-7223","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Phey Ming","family":"Yeap","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4621-2514","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed Taufik Bin","family":"Mohamed Shah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6713-9643","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cynthia Assimta","family":"Peter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2297-1815","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jamie Xiu Mei","family":"Ho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi Xian","family":"Low","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8510-931X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dickson Hong Him","family":"Chau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8864-7006","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeremy Keng Meng","family":"Goh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8923-190X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Steven Bak Siew","family":"Wong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5610-6782","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adriel Guang Wei","family":"Goh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore 544886, Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1016\/j.csm.2019.08.003","article-title":"Meniscus Repair and Regeneration: A Systematic Review from a Basic and Translational Science Perspective","volume":"39","author":"Jayasuriya","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clin. 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