Magnetic resonance imaging of the liver with ultrashort TE (UTE) pulse sequences

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of imaging the liver in volunteers and patients with ultrashort echo time (UTE) pulse sequences. Materials and Methods: Seven normal controls as well as 12 patients weigh biopsy-proven generalized liver disease and three patients with focal disease were examined using pulse sequences with initial TEs of 0.08 msec followed by three later echoes, with or without frequency-based fat suppression T-2 values were calculated from regions of interest in the liver. Results: Good image quality was obtained in each subject. There was a highly significant difference in the mean T-2 values between the normal controls and patients with generalized liver disease (P = 0.001) T-2 was significantly decreased in hemochromatosis (P = 0.002) and increased in cirrhosis (P = 0.04), compared with controls, T-2 also correlated with functional status assessed by Child's grade (P = 0.001). A hepatocellular carcinoma showed reduced short T-2 components in the region of thermal ablation and evidence of a subcapsular hematoma which were not apparent with conventional imaging. Conclusions: Imaging of the liver with UTE sequences showed good image quality and tolerance of abdominal motion. T-2 was specifically correlated with the presence of hemochromatosis cirrhosis and functional grade. Imaging of short T-2 relaxation components may provide useful information in disease.