Susceptibility induced MR line broadening: applications to brain iron mapping

Magnetic susceptibility variations due to the presence of iron in neural tissue can result in a shift of local resonance frequency, decreased T2 resulting from water diffusion through local field gradients, and line broadening due to field inhomogeneity within a voxel. In this study, modified spin echo phase contrast pulse sequences were used to map proton resonance line widths in phantoms and in vivo. In agar gels containing varying concentrations of Fe3O4 (magnetite), line broadening mechanisms permitted accurate spatial localization of iron deposits from measurement of local resonance line widths. Furthermore, line widths estimated from the data were strongly correlated with iron concentrations, indicating the potential quantitative applications of the method. The technique was applied clinically to map iron in subacute brain hemorrhages. These data suggest that resonance line widths may be a useful measure of brain iron content.