Liver T2* Measurement of Iron Overload: an Investigation of Optimal Methods of Quantification

INTRODUCTION Iron overload is common in thalassaemia major and sickle cell disease (due to frequent blood transfusions) and in hereditary hemochromatosis. The traditional method to determine total body iron is liver biopsy, as this is the site where iron is first stored. In recent years, non-invasive iron quantification based on MRI [1,2] has been developed, and a FDA-approved T2-based technique (FerriScan) is currently available as a surrogate to liver biopsy. Potentially more attractive, however, are very rapid T2*-based acquisitions adopted in cardiac overload studies, but these techniques are not approved for the liver, and the reliability associated with different analysis models in the presence of noise is not well understood. In this study, we investigate the accuracy of three common analysis models for T2* quantification of iron levels typically encountered in this patient group.