Evaluation of Fat Suppression Effect on Evaluation of T₂ ^* Components in Achilles Tendons

This study evaluates the impact of fat suppression on the bi-exponential ${{\text{T}}_2}^{\ast}$ analysis of the Achilles tendon. Healthy volunteers underwent ultrashort echo time magnetic resonance imaging (UTE MRI) using both fat-suppressed and fat-unsuppressed acquisition methods. Our results showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.001) in the short- ${{\text{T}}_2}^{\ast}$ and long- ${{\text{T}}_2}^{\ast}$ component intensities between the two methods, with intensity variations ranging from 0.65 to 0.86. These differences likely result from fat suppression altering longitudinal magnetization, which predominantly affects the short- ${{\text{T}}_2}^{\ast}$ component. These findings suggest that a tricomponent approach without fat suppression may offer a more accurate and unbiased assessment of the ${{\text{T}}_2}^{\ast}$ composition of the Achilles tendon.