A Systematic Technique for Echo Truncation in MRI-Based R2* Calculations for Liver Iron Quantification Which Reduces Systematic and Random Error

Mustafa Rifaat Bashir¹, Brian M. Dale², Elmar Max Merkle¹

Multi-echo gradient echo based MRI techniques have emerged as a useful clinical tool for estimating hepatic iron concentration by measuring liver R2*. Systematic and random errors can occur in the R2* solution based on the number of echoes used for the calculation. We explore the propagation of these errors, and propose and analyze a technique for reducing error by selecting an optimized number of echoes for the calculation. We compare this with standard techniques using Monte Carlo simulations and patient data.