Jiang Du1, Won Bae1, Michael Carl2, Mark Bydder1, Atsushi M. Takahashi2, Reni Biswas1, Christine B. Chung1, Graeme M. Bydder1
1Radiology, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA; 2Global Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare Technologies, Menlo Park, CA, USA
Mineralized bone tissue has a significant water component of approximately 15-20% by volume. Quantification of bone water may be able to capture changes in porosity during aging and progression of osteoporosis, and provide a means of assessing response to treatment. However, bone appears as a signal void with all types of clinical MR sequences. Ultrashort TE (UTE) sequences with TEs down to 100 s or shorter permit direct imaging and quantification of bone. In this study we report a fast and efficient 2D UTE technique to quantify T1, T2* and bone water using a clinical 3T scanner.