Free-breathing simultaneous quantification of fat fraction, R2*, and T1 at 0.55T: Validation in a clinical cohort

Motivation: Improve accessibility of MRI by measuring quantitative liver biomarkers at 0.55T. Goal(s): Perform and validate free-breathing radial stack-of-stars for simultaneous measurement of liver fat fraction, R2*, and T1 on a 0.55T system in patients with chronic liver disease. Approach: 11 subjects undergoing 3T MRI were offered a 0.55T examination. Fat fraction and R2* were compared at both field strengths. Composite T1 was compared to water-only T1. Results: Fat fraction at 0.55T was highly correlated to 3T, with minimal bias and variance. R2* correlation did not achieve statistical significance. Composite T1 was linearly related to water-only T1. Impact: Free-breathing simultaneous measurement of important liver biomarkers is achievable in a low-cost commercially available MRI system, which promises to help make the benefits of MRI more accessible to patients who need it.