Skip to content Skip to navigation

Iron Quantification

Hepatic and myocardial iron quantification can be performed noninvasively with MRI. MRI can quantify a parameter called "T2*", which is an indicator of the amount of iron in the liver and myocardium. The smaller the T2*, the greater then iron deposition. The reciprocal of T2* is referred to as R2*, i.e. R2* = 1/T2*. Liver and myocardial iron concentration is directly proportional to R2*. This, MRI may be used to diagnose iron overload, and to noninvasively guide chelation therapy in the setting of iron overload. While MRI is accurate in this assessment, obtaining good results requires performance at a center with experience and requires attention to technical details.

Sample Epic Order

Download and Print A Request

AttachmentSize
PDF icon IronQuant-OrderForm.pdf1.08 MB

Examples (click on images)

References

  1. Alustiza JM, Castiella A, De Juan MD, Emparanza JI, Artetxe J, Uranga M. Iron overload in the liver diagnostic and quantification. Eur J Radiol 2007; 61:499-506. PubMed link
  2. Gandon Y, Olivie D, Guyader D, et al. Non-invasive assessment of hepatic iron stores by MRI. Lancet 2004; 363:357-362. PubMed link
  3. Hankins JS, McCarville MB, Loeffler RB, et al. R2* magnetic resonance imaging of the liver in patients with iron overload. Blood 2009. PubMed link
  4. Vasanawala SS, Yu H, Shimakawa A, Jeng M, Brittain JH. Estimation of liver T in transfusion-related iron overload in patients with weighted least squares T IDEAL. Magn Reson Med 2012; 67:183-190. PubMed link
  5. Wood JC. Diagnosis and management of transfusion iron overload: the role of imaging. Am J Hematol 2007; 82:1132-1135. PubMed link
  6. Wood JC, Enriquez C, Ghugre N, et al. MRI R2 and R2* mapping accurately estimates hepatic iron concentration in transfusion-dependent thalassemia and sickle cell disease patients. Blood 2005; 106:1460-1465. PubMed link