Robustness of R2* Mapping for Liver Iron Assessment at 1.5T and 3T

Naila Qazi¹, Scott B. Reeder¹, ², Diego Hernando¹

R2*-MRI has the potential to provide rapid and accurate iron quantification. However, the robustness of liver R2* mapping to variations in imaging parameters is unknown. Indeed, lack of robustness is the main criticism of R2* mapping, currently precluding it from becoming widely accepted for iron quantification. In this work, we demonstrate that liver R2* mapping in patients with liver iron overload can be performed with excellent robustness to variations in spatial resolution, slice orientation and echo time combination at both 1.5T and 3T.