Practical guide to quantification of hepatic iron with MRI

Eur Radiol. 2020 Jan;30(1):383-393. doi: 10.1007/s00330-019-06380-9. Epub 2019 Aug 7.

Abstract

Our intention is to demystify the MR quantification of hepatic iron (i.e., the liver iron concentration) and give you a step-by-step approach by answering the most pertinent questions. The following article should be more of a manual or guide for every radiologist than a classic review article, which just summarizes the literature. Furthermore, we provide important background information for professional communication with clinicians. The information regarding the physical background is reduced to a minimum. After reading this article, you should be able to perform adequate MR measurements of the LIC with 1.5-T or 3.0-T scanners. KEY POINTS: • MRI is widely accepted as the primary approach to non-invasively determine liver iron concentration (LIC). • This article is a guide for every radiologist to perform adequate MR measurements of the LIC. • When using R2* relaxometry, some points have to be considered to obtain correct measurements-all explained in this article.

Keywords: Iron; Liver; Magnetic resonance imaging.

MeSH terms

  • Clinical Protocols
  • Humans
  • Iron / analysis*
  • Iron Overload / diagnostic imaging*
  • Liver / chemistry*
  • Liver / diagnostic imaging*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic

Substances

  • Iron