Hepatic Iron Quantification on 3 Tesla (3 T) Magnetic Resonance (MR): Technical Challenges and Solutions

MR has become a reliable and noninvasive method of hepatic iron quantification. Currently, most of the hepatic iron quantification is performed on 1.5 T MR, and the biopsy measurements have been paired with R2 and R2* values for 1.5 T MR. As the use of 3 T MR scanners is steadily increasing in clini...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Muhammad Anwar, John Wood, Deepa Manwani, Benjamin Taragin, Suzette O. Oyeku, Qi Peng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Radiology Research and Practice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/628150
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Summary:MR has become a reliable and noninvasive method of hepatic iron quantification. Currently, most of the hepatic iron quantification is performed on 1.5 T MR, and the biopsy measurements have been paired with R2 and R2* values for 1.5 T MR. As the use of 3 T MR scanners is steadily increasing in clinical practice, it has become important to evaluate the practicality of calculating iron burden at 3 T MR. Hepatic iron quantification on 3 T MR requires a better understanding of the process and more stringent technical considerations. The purpose of this work is to focus on the technical challenges in establishing a relationship between T2* values at 1.5 T MR and 3 T MR for hepatic iron concentration (HIC) and to develop an appropriately optimized MR protocol for the evaluation of T2* values in the liver at 3 T magnetic field strength. We studied 22 sickle cell patients using multiecho fast gradient-echo sequence (MFGRE) 3 T MR and compared the results with serum ferritin and liver biopsy results. Our study showed that the quantification of hepatic iron on 3 T MRI in sickle cell disease patients correlates well with clinical blood test results and biopsy results. 3 T MR liver iron quantification based on MFGRE can be used for hepatic iron quantification in transfused patients.
ISSN:2090-1941
2090-195X