Abstract #0087
            Quantitative Ultra-short Echo Time Imaging for Massive Iron Overload Assessment: A Way to Make It Happen
                       Axel J. Krafft                       1,2                      , Ralf B. Loeffler                       1                      , 						Ruitian Song                       1                      , Mary E. McCarville                       1                      , 						Matthew D. Robson                       3                      , Jane S. Hankins                       4                      , 						and Claudia M. Hillenbrand                       1           
            
             1
            
            Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children's 
						Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States,
            
             2
            
            Radiology 
						- Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, 
						German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany,
            
             3
            
            Radcliffe 
						Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, 
						United Kingdom,
            
             4
            
            Hematology, St. Jude 
						Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States
           
            
           Iron overload requires accurate assessment of hepatic 
						iron content (HIC) which can be achieved via R2*-MRI 
						using multi-echo gradient echo (mGRE) imaging. The 
						precision in previous R2*-HIC studies is compromised for 
						high HIC (> 20 mg Fe/g) as conventional mGRE techniques 
						fail due to the rapid T2* signal decay. This limitation 
						could be overcome using 2D ultra-short echo time (UTE) 
						imaging which is, however, sensitive to various system 
						imperfections hampering quantitative MRI. We describe a 
						2D UTE sequence that allows for precise R2* 
						quantification for detection of iron overload. The 
						sequence was evaluated in phantoms and in vivo.
          
				
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