Bone Marrow Uptake of Ferumoxytol: A Preliminary Study in Healthy Human Subjects

Pippa Storey¹, Arnaldo A. Arbini²

Ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles are macrophage-specific contrast agents, which hold promise for identifying bone marrow lesions. This preliminary study in healthy adults investigated marrow uptake of ferumoxytol (Feraheme), a USPIO agent that was recently approved for human use in the United States. Images were acquired before and 3 days after intravenous ferumoxytol administration, using a multiple gradient echo sequence that allowed simultaneous quantification of fat:water ratios and T2*. Results suggest efficient uptake of ferumoxytol by hematopoietic marrow, with less uptake by fatty marrow. Further studies are needed to investigate the utility of this technique in differentiating marrow lesions.