A novel magnetic resonance imaging postprocessing technique for the assessment of intervertebral disc degeneration-Correlation with histological grading in a rabbit disc degeneration model.

Our results show that using a multi-echo T2 MRI sequence, Decay Variance can quantitatively assess disc degeneration more accurately and with less image-processing time than quantitative T2 relaxometry in a rabbit disc puncture model. The technique is a viable candidate for quantitative assessment of disc degeneration on MRI scans. Further validation on human subjects is needed.