T1rho Imaging of Liver in Presence of Iron

Liver T1rho is elevated in response to accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins during fibrosis. The presence of hepatic iron overload; however, can shorten the T1rho value. With proper correction, we can remove this confounding factor and improve the reliability of T1rho for early diagnosis of liver fibrosis. Patients with early-stage liver fibrosis confirmed by biopsy will be recruited at the Prince of Wales Hospital (Hong Kong). Thirty patients and twenty healthy volunteers will be recruited. The liver iron content will be measured using the established T2\* MRI relaxometry. Breathhold black blood T1rho relaxometry will be used to collect T1rho data. The measured T1rho will be retrospectively corrected to remove the shortening effect caused by iron. We will use ANOVA to compare the measurement with and without fibrosis. We will use Pearson correlations between the disease state and the imaging measurements, and ROC analysis to determine the diagnostic value of the proposed method.