Quantitative MRI Analysis of Craniofacial Bone Marrow in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Elliott Elias¹, Joseph Liao¹, Memi Watanabe¹, Yu Sakai¹, Kaan Erbay¹, Naoko Saito¹, Hernan Jara¹, Osamu Sakai¹

Purpose: To analyze MR relaxometric and volumetric changes in craniofacial bone marrow in sickle-cell disease (SCD). Materials and Methods: 15 SCD patients (19.8-43.6 yrs) and 23 controls (23-64 yrs) were imaged by mixed-TSE sequence at 1.5T. Craniofacial bones were manually segmented, and T1, T2, and secular-T2 relaxation time histograms and volumes were analyzed. Results: T2 and secular-T2 peaks revealed significant shortening in SCD patients. Only the first T1 peak showed significant increase. Significant increase in marrow volume was observed in SCD patients. Conclusion: Disease specific relaxometric and volumetric changes were observed in the craniofacial bone marrow in SCD patients.