Feasibility and Reproducibility of MR Fat-Fraction Measurements in Muscle Using Iterative Signal Decomposition with a Multifrequency Fat Signal Model

Beatrijs Henriette Aleid Wokke¹, Clemens Bos², Holger Eggers², Andrew G. Webb³, Hermien E. Kan³

MRI is finding increasing importance in the follow up of muscle diseases in which there is fatty muscle infiltration. Techniques such as multiecho chemical shift-based water-fat separation are highly useful because they provide quantitative values for fat fractions. Despite the presence of multiple peaks in the fat spectrum, the fat fraction is usually obtained through a single peak model. Multipeak correction should improve the obtained fat fraction. In this study we validate that correction for multiple fat peaks does indeed improve quantification of fat fractions in vitro and is applicable to, and highly reproducible in, muscle studies in vivo.