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• Technical Article •
Comparative study of T1-mapping and RESOLVE DWI in the quantitative assessment of sacroiliac joint inflammatory activity in axial spondyloarthritis
ZHANG Xiao  YANG Shengsheng  CHEN Xianyuan  FANG Kunhua  YU Shun 

Cite this article as: ZHANG X, YANG S S, CHEN X Y, et al. Comparative study of T1-mapping and RESOLVE DWI in the quantitative assessment of sacroiliac joint inflammatory activity in axial spondyloarthritis[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(4): 101-108. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.014.


[Abstract] Objective This study compares the diagnostic efficacy of T1-mapping and readout segmentation of long variable echo-train diffusion-weighted imaging (RESOLVE DWI) techniques in quantitatively assessing sacroiliac joint inflammation activity levels in axial spondyloarthropathy (axSpA), aiming to provide clinicians with more valuable quantitative indicators.Materials and Methods The retrospective cohort study included 74 patients diagnosed with axial spondyloarthropathy (axSpA) at the Department of Rheumatology, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Fuzhou University between June 2017 and June 2024, forming the case group. A control group comprised 19 individuals who underwent sacroiliac joint MRI examinations for mechanical low back pain. Within the case group, participants were further categorised into an active group (n = 40) and an inactive group (n = 34) based on the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS). All research subjects underwent conventional MRI, T1-mapping, and RESOLVE DWI quantitative technical inspection. T1-mapping values and apparent diffusion coefficient (b = 50, 500, 700 s/mm2, denoted as ADC50, 500, 700) of the subchondral bone marrow in the sacroiliac joints were measured simultaneously across both groups. Comparisons were made between the control group, case group, and its subgroups (inactive and active groups) regarding differences in T1-mapping values and ADC50, 500, 700 values. The diagnostic efficacy of T1-mapping and ADC50, 500, 700 across groups was analysed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. The DeLong test was used to compare the differences in AUC values between the two groups.Results The T1-mapping values and ADC50, 500, 700 values of the subchondral bone marrow in the sacroiliac joint were higher in the case group, inactive group, and active group than in the control group (P < 0.001 for all comparisons). The T1-mapping values and ADC50, 500, 700 values of the subchondral bone marrow in the sacroiliac joint of the active group were higher than those in the inactive group (P < 0.05). In distinguishing the control group from the case group, the AUC values for T1-mapping and ADC50, 500, 700 were 0.889 and 0.877 respectively; when differentiating the control group from the inactive group, the AUC values were 0.811 and 0.828 respectively. In distinguishing the control group from the active group, the AUC values were 0.955 and 0.918 respectively, both demonstrating good diagnostic performance. The Delong test indicated no statistically significant difference between them (all P > 0.05). When distinguishing between inactive and active groups, the AUC for T1-mapping was 0.808, whereas the AUC for ADC50, 500, 700 was 0.693, with a statistically significant difference (P = 0.042).Conclusions Both T1-mapping and RESOLVE DWI techniques effectively assess the level of sacroiliac joint inflammation activity in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). However, T1-mapping demonstrates superior efficacy in distinguishing between inactive and active groups among axSpA patients.
[Keywords] axial spondyloarthritis；magnetic resonance imaging；T1-mapping；diffusion-weighted imaging；bone marrow edema；quantitative assessment

ZHANG Xiao1, 2   YANG Shengsheng2   CHEN Xianyuan2, 3   FANG Kunhua2, 4   YU Shun1, 2, 5*  

1 College of Integrative Medicine, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350122, China

2 Department of Radiology, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Department of Radiology, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, China

3 Department of Radiology, Fuzhou Second Hospital Maternity and Child Health Centre, Fuzhou 350008, China

4 Department of Radiology, Longyan Second Hospital, Fujian Province, Longyan 364000, China

5 Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Big Data Engineering, Fuzhou 350001, China

Corresponding author: YU S, E-mail: 76429310@qq.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-12-03
Accepted  2026-03-23
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.014
Cite this article as: ZHANG X, YANG S S, CHEN X Y, et al. Comparative study of T1-mapping and RESOLVE DWI in the quantitative assessment of sacroiliac joint inflammatory activity in axial spondyloarthritis[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(4): 101-108. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.014.

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