Monitoring osteogenesis using high resolution magnetic resonance imaging

There is a critical need in bone tissue engineering for a noninvasive monitor of the progression of osteogenesis. In this work, an MR microscopy system was used to study over a 4-week period the growth and development of in vitro tissue engineered constructs fabricated by seeding human mesenchymal stems cells onto gelatin sponge matrices. Our preliminary data demonstrate progressive reduction in all these parameters with time of incubation, which correlates well with MRI image contrast and consecutive biochemical changes. This study suggests that MR microscopy can be effective in the in vitro evaluation and visualization of osteogenic constructs.