MR has become a reliable and noninvasive method of hepatic
iron quantification. Currently, most of the hepatic
iron quantification is performed on 1.5 T MR, and the biopsy measurements have been paired with R 2 and R 2* values for 1.5 T MR. As the use of 3 T MR scanners is steadily increasing in clinical practice, it has become important to evaluate the practicality of calculating
iron burden at 3 T MR. Hepatic
iron quantification on 3 T MR requires a better understanding of the process and more stringent technical considerations. The purpose of this work is to focus on the technical challenges in establishing a relationship between T 2* values at 1.5 T MR and 3 T MR for hepatic
iron concentration (HIC) and to develop an appropriately optimized MR protocol for the evaluation of T 2* values in the liver at 3 T magnetic field strength. We studied 22 sickle cell patients using multiecho fast gradient-echo sequence (MFGRE) 3 T MR and compared the results with serum
ferritin and liver biopsy results. Our study showed that the quantification of hepatic
iron on 3 T MRI in
sickle cell disease patients correlates well with clinical blood test results and biopsy results. 3 T MR liver
iron quantification based on MFGRE can be used for hepatic
iron quantification in transfused patients.