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Updated: Apr 8, 2026
Author Spotlight: A Non-Invasive Tool to Assess and Differentiate Fat Patterns in Liver Using 3D Dixon MRI
Published on: October 20, 2023
Heterogeneous living donor hepatic fat distribution on MRI chemical shift imaging
YoungRok Choi1, Jeong Min Lee2, Nam-Joon Yi3
1Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Purpose:
We evaluated the heterogeneity of steatosis in living donor livers to determine its regional differences.
Methods:
Between June 2011 and February 2012, 81 liver donors were selected. Fat fraction was estimated using magnetic resonance triple-echo chemical shifting gradient imaging in 13 different regions: segment 1 (S1), S2, S3, and each peripheral and deep region of S4, S5, S6, S7, and S8.
Results:
There were differences (range, 3.2%-5.3%) in fat fractions between each peripheral and deep region of S4, S6, S7, and S8 (P < 0.001, P = 0.004, P < 0.001, and P = 0.006). Fat deposit amount in S1, S2, S3 and deep regions of S4-S8 were significantly different from one another (F [4.003, 58.032] = 8.684, P < 0.001), while there were no differences among the peripheral regions of S4-S8 (F [2.9, 5.3] = 1.3, P = 0.272) by repeated measure analysis of variance method. And regional differences of the amount of fat deposit in the whole liver increased as a peripheral fat fraction of S5 increased (R(2) = 0.428, P < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Multifocal fat measurements for the whole liver are needed because a small regional evaluation might not represent the remaining liver completely, especially in patients with severe hepatic steatosis.
