Perfusion MRI can detect the absence of blood flow in the affected femoral head of patients with Perthes disease.

Latest study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery by Dr Kim and colleagues show that perfusion MRI can predict the lateral pillar involvement before x-ray changes occur.

Reference: (J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2014 Jul 16;96(14):1152-1160. [Epub ahead of print] Perfusion MRI in Early Stage of Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease to Predict Lateral Pillar Involvement: A Preliminary Study. Kim HK1, Wiesman KD1, Kulkarni V1, Burgess J1, Chen E1, Brabham C1, Ikram H1, Du J1, Lu A1, Kulkarni AV2, Dempsey M1, Herring JA1. PMID: 25031369 )