MRI Approaches for Determination of Liver Iron Content a Comparison

Arthur Wunderlich¹, Holger Cario², Markus Juchems¹

To compare liver iron content (LIC) determined by different established MRI methods, we investigated 198 patients with protocols according to published methods, three using gradient echo (GRE) sequences and one working with spin echo (SE). The methods correlate moderately with r=0.90. Weakpoints are the bad performance of one GRE method near its upper limit and sensitivity to liver steatosis of the GRE method addressing high LIC. The latter is most likely the cause for reduced correlation of SE vs. GRE for high LICs. Although GRE generally tends to overestimate LIC, both methods are suitable for decisions concerning patient management.