Quantitative susceptibility mapping of ex vivo rat livers at high resolution

Motivation: Estimating SPIO concentration is expected to lead to a quantitative evaluation of radiotherapy margins for liver cancer. However, the spatial resolution of QSM in previous studies is low, and the distribution of SPIO concentration in the liver was not evaluated. Goal(s): The objective of this study is to estimate the distribution of SPIO concentration by performing high-resolution QSM on ex vivo rat liver under SPIO administration. Approach: SPIO was administered to rat liver and QSM was performed. The SPIO concentration distribution was calculated using a calibration curve from the phantom experiment. Results: SPIO distribution in rat liver was imaged by high-resolution QSM. Impact: We quantified the SPIO concentration in rat liver by QSM at high resolution. This is expected to lead to a quantitative evaluation of radiotherapy margins for hepatocellular carcinoma.