Measuring liver fat fraction with complex-based chemical shift MRI: the effect of simplified sampling protocols on accuracy.

Background: The assessment of liver percentage fat fraction (%FF) using proton density fat fraction sequences is becoming increasingly accessible. Previous studies have tended to use multiple small ROIs that focus on Couinaud segments. In an effort to simplify day-to-day analysis, this study assesses the impact of using larger, elliptical ROIs focused on a single hepatic lobe. Additionally, we assess the impact of sampling fewer transhepatic slices when measuring %FF.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively obtained images from 34 volunteers using an IDEAL IQ sequence. Two observers independently measured %FF using three different protocols: freehand whole-liver ROI (fh-ROI), elliptical-ROI on the right lobe (rt-ROI) and elliptical-ROI on the left lobe (lt-ROI).

Results: Inter-observer reliability for all measurements techniques was 'excellent' (Spearman's rank correlation coefficients 0.81-0.98). There was a significant difference (Paired Wilcoxon Test: p < 0.001) between the median %FF obtained using fh-ROI when compared to the rt-ROI method, the maximum mean difference between the two techniques was 2.79% (95% CI). For all sampling methods a Kruskall-Wallis analysis demonstrated no significant difference in mean %FF when the number of slices sampled was reduced from 11 to 1. The mean coefficient of variance increased when more slices were sampled (3 slices = 0.1, 11 slices = 0.17, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Simplified ROIs focused on one hepatic lobe provide %FF measurements that are unlikely to be sufficiently accurate for use in clinical practice. Freehand whole-liver ROIs should be used in preference. A single freehand ROI measurement taken at the level of the hepatic hilum yields a %FF that is representative of the mean whole liver % FF. Multiple slices are needed to measure heterogeneity.