Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 17, 2026
Measurement of Tumor T2* Relaxation Times after Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Administration
Published on: May 19, 2023
Breath-hold spin echosequence for assessing liver iron content
Justin Cheng-Ta Yang1, Meng-Yao Lu2, Fu-Shan Jaw3
1Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and the College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Radiology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Chu-Tung Branch, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Department of Radiology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Objective:
To compare a multiple breath-hold, multiecho, multiplanar spin-echo (BHMEMPSE) magnetic resonance (MR) sequence with a TR of 300ms with a traditional multiecho, multiplanar spin-echo (MEMPSE) MR sequence for assessing liver iron content.
Materials And Methods:
This study was approved by the institutional review board; informed consent was waived. Liver R2 measurement was derived from the mono-exponential model by BHMEMPSE and MEMPSE MR sequences of a 1.5T MR machine in 30 thalassemia patients (9men, 21women, aged 27.7±6.8years). Hepatic iron contents were estimated using Ferriscan in all patients. The inter- and intra-observer agreement of the 2 MR sequences was also evaluated.
Results:
MEMPSE R2 values significantly correlated with Ferriscan iron content values (r=0.895, p<0.001) and serum ferritin concentration (r=0.661, p<0.001). BHMEMPSE R2 values significantly correlated with Ferriscan values (r=0.914, p<0.001) and serum ferritin concentration (r=0.608, p<0.001). The distribution of MEMPSE R2 values against BHMEMPSE R2 values revealed an excellent linear relationship (r=0.978, p<0.001). The inter- and intra-observer agreement of the 2 MR sequences was excellent, with an interclass correlation coefficient exceeding 0.9. The distribution of Ferriscan against BHMEMPSE R2 values revealed a curvilinear relationship (r=0.935, p<0.001).
Conclusions:
The BHMEMPSE sequence exhibited comparable estimation for assessing liver iron content, comparable repeatability and a shorter acquisition time compared with the MEMPSE sequence. The BHMEMPSE sequence can serve as an adjunctive sequence to assess liver iron content.
