MRI
A 1.5 tesla (T) MRI scanner (Intera, Phillips) was used to obtain images of the right thigh in the axial plane over the full length of the femur. A T1-weighted 3D turbo spin echo sequence was used (field of view, 500 × 500 mm; reconstructed matrix, 512 × 512 mm; echo time, 15 ms; repetition time, 645 ms; slice thickness, 5 mm; slice gap, 5 mm) with the subject lying still in the supine position. A 4-element sense body radiofrequency coil was wrapped around both the thighs. During the pretesting scan, a specified distance from a bony landmark (the lateral and medial femoral condyles) in the frontal plane was used to center the axial plane images [