Reliable quantification of marrow fat content and unsaturation level using in vivo MR spectroscopy

• Published in: Magnetic resonance in medicine Vol. 79; no. 3; pp. 1722 - 1729
• Main Authors: Xu, Kaipin, Sigurdsson, Sigurdur, Gudnason, Vilmundur, Hue, Trisha, Schwartz, Ann, Li, Xiaojuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2018
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - diagnostic imaging; Adipose Tissue - physiology; Aged, 80 and over; Bone composition; Bone marrow; Bone Marrow - diagnostic imaging; Bone Marrow - physiology; Coefficient of variation; Computer simulation; Data acquisition; fat quantification; fat unsaturation; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods; in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS); In vivo methods and tests; Line shape; Magnetic resonance; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Male; Mathematical models; Methods; Reproducibility; Reproducibility of Results; Spectral resolution; Spectroscopy; Spectrum analysis; Time domain analysis; Vertebrae; Voigt line shape model; Voigt line shape model; fat unsaturation; time-domain analysis; computer simulation; fat quantification; bone marrow; in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)
• ISSN: 0740-3194; 1522-2594; 1522-2594
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.26828

Purpose To develop a novel technique for reliable quantification of bone marrow fat content and composition using in vivo MR spectroscopy (MRS). Methods An MRS quantification method combining both advantages of Voigt line shape model and time‐domain analysis was developed. The proposed method was tested using computer‐simulated data and in vivo data acquired at lumbar vertebral bodies of 23 subjects (age, 83.8 ± 3.7 y; male, n = 13; female, n = 10) from L1 to L4. Reliability and reproducibility were calculated for the quantification results. Comparisons between the proposed method and some conventional methods were conducted. Results Low mean absolute percentage errors and low mean coefficients of variation for computer simulations suggest that the proposed method is accurate and precise. By using this method, marrow fat content can be quantified reliably, even for data with low spectral resolution and low signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR). Unsaturation level can be reliably quantified for data with moderate spectral resolution and moderate SNR. Results obtained from in vivo data using the proposed method demonstrated better model fit than conventional methods. Conclusion The method proposed in this study has better performance than conventional methods in the quantification of bone marrow MRS data and has great potential for wide applications of studying marrow fat content and composition. Magn Reson Med 79:1722–1729, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.