Fat-suppressed Ultrashort Echo Time Quantitative Magnetization Transfer (UTE-qMT) MRI via Single-point Dixon Method

Motivation: UTE-qMT imaging has shown potential in probing the molecular composition and microenvironment of short-T2 tissues. Yet fat signals and chemical shift artifacts interfere with morphological contrast and UTE-qMT measurements. Goal(s): To establish a fat suppression method for accurate UTE-qMT imaging. Approach: We adopted the UTE-single point Dixon (UTE-spDixon) method for suppressing fat signals in a series of MT-weighted UTE images of short-T2 tissues. Results: UTE-spDixon successfully separates fat from water without short-T2 signal attenuation and compromising qMT measurement. Impact: The fat/water-separated UTE-qMT method shown in this study will improve the accuracy of quantifying molecular compositions of short-T2 tissues. This fat/water separation method also has the potential to apply to other UTE-based quantitative MR techniques.