Free-Breathing Imaging Techniques for Liver Iron Quantification: Comparison with a Validated Breath-Hold Technique in Patients with Iron Overload

Ralf Berthold Loeffler¹, Jane Hankins², Ray Song¹, Adam M. Winchell¹, Mary Beth McCarville¹, Claudia Maria Hillenbrand¹

Liver iron quantification with T2* measurements is gaining clinical acceptance. So far only breath-hold techniques are validated with liver biopsies. This study compared different free-breathing techniques (regular free breathing, navigated free breathing) with a breath-hold technique that was validated with liver biopsies. Liver T2* values were very similar for the free breathing techniques and for the breath-hold technique in 3 pediatric patients with moderate to strong hepatic iron overload.