Distribution of Cardiac Iron measured by MRI-R2*

Purpose: To assess regional iron distribution by MRI-R2* within the heart of patients with b-thalassemia major (TM) and other iron overload diseases. Materials and Methods: Breathhold ECG gated MRI (1.5 T) of the heart was used for the measurement of transverse relaxation rates R2* in 32 patients (11–79 y). In a mid-papillary short-axis slice divided into septal, anterior, lateral, and posterior quadrants, R2* was analyzed from ROI based signal intensities from 12 echo times (TE=1.3–26ms). Typical boundary effects were evaluated in detail. Results: The segmentation of the cardiac wall resulted in highly signific…