title: Assessment of liver iron overload by 3 T MRI.
abstract: To evaluate the performance and limitations of the signal intensity ratio method for quantifying liver iron overload at 3 T.
  
  
  
  Institutional review board approval and written informed consent from all participants were obtained. One hundred and five patients were included prospectively. All patients underwent a liver biopsy with biochemical assessment of hepatic iron concentration and a 3 T MRI scan with 5 breath-hold single-echo gradient-echo sequences. Linear correlation between liver-to-muscle signal intensity ratio and liver iron concentration was calculated. The algorithm for calculating magnetic resonance hepatic iron concentration was adapted from the method described by Gandon et al. with echo times divided by 2. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated.
  
  
  
  Five patients were excluded (coil selection failure or missing sequence) and 100 patients were analyzed, 64 men and 36 women, 52 ± 13.3 years old, with a biochemical hepatic iron concentration range of 0-630 µmol/g. Linear correlation between biochemical hepatic iron concentration and MR-hepatic iron concentration was excellent with a correlation coefficient = 0.96, p < 0.0001. Sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 83% (0.70-0.92) and 96% (0.85-0.99), with a pathological threshold of 36 µmol/g.
  
  
  
  Signal intensity ratio method for quantifying liver iron overload can be used at 3 T with echo times divided by 2.
authors.affiliation: Digestive Unit, Department of Radiology, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.|Hepatic Disease Unit, Clinical investigation center, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes University Hospital, CIC INSERM 1414, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paisant
authors.affiliation: Digestive Unit, Department of Radiology, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boulic
authors.affiliation: Hepatic Disease Unit, Clinical investigation center, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes University Hospital, CIC INSERM 1414, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.|Department of Hepatology, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.|INSERM UMR991, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bardou-Jacquet
authors.affiliation: VisAGeS U746 Unit/Project, INSERM/INRIAIRISA, UMR CNRS 6074, University of Rennes 1, Beaulieu Campus, 35042, Rennes, France.|Department of Radiology, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bannier
authors.affiliation: Digestive Unit, Department of Radiology, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.|LTSI, INSERM U1099, University of Rennes 1, Beaulieu Campus, 35042, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: d'Assignies
authors.affiliation: Hepatic Disease Unit, Clinical investigation center, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes University Hospital, CIC INSERM 1414, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.|Department of Hepatology, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lainé
authors.affiliation: LTSI, INSERM U1099, University of Rennes 1, Beaulieu Campus, 35042, Rennes, France.|Department of Pathology, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.|Service d'anatomie et de cytologie, Hôpital Pontchaillou, CHU Rennes, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Turlin
authors.affiliation: Digestive Unit, Department of Radiology, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes University Hospital, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France. yves.gandon@chu-rennes.fr.|Hepatic Disease Unit, Clinical investigation center, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes University Hospital, CIC INSERM 1414, 2 rue H. Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France. yves.gandon@chu-rennes.fr.|LTSI, INSERM U1099, University of Rennes 1, Beaulieu Campus, 35042, Rennes, France. yves.gandon@chu-rennes.fr.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gandon
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019190:Iron Overload / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: 3 Tesla; Iron overload; Liver; MRI; Quantification