Quantitative Assessment of Iron Overload in Liver of Patients with Thalassemia Major Using Ultra-Short T2*

azza abdelrahim ahmed¹, Taigang He², Dudley Pennell², David Firmin²

Attempts were made in measuring ultra-short T2*(<1ms) for accurate assessment of iron in the liver of patients with thalassemia major. A new sequence was developed by minimizing duration of RF pulse and shortening the ramp times and duration of field gradients. The sequence tested in phantom involved an initial echo time was reduced to 0.8ms and echo spacing to 0.6ms. For liver imaging, an echo spacing of 1.9ms was used. The developed sequence was later compared with conventional one. Results show a feasibility of measuring ultra-short T2* values in phantoms and in liver of patients using the improved sequence.