Total liver fat quantification using three‐dimensional respiratory self‐navigated MRI sequence

Purpose MRI can produce quantitative liver fat fraction (FF) maps noninvasively, which can help to improve diagnoses of fatty liver diseases. However, most sequences acquire several two‐dimensional (2D) slices during one or more breath‐holds, which may be difficult for patients with limited breath‐holding capacity. A whole‐liver 3D FF map could also be obtained in a single acquisition by applying a reliable breathing‐motion correction method. Several correction techniques are available for 3D imaging, but they use external devices, interrupt acquisition, or jeopardize the spatial resolution. To overcome these issues, a proof‐of‐concept study introducing a self‐navigated 3D three‐point Dixon sequence is presented here. Methods A respiratory self‐gating strategy acquiring a center k‐space profile was integrated into a three‐point Dixon sequence. We obtained 3D FF maps from a water‐fat emulsions phantom and fifteen volunteers. This sequence was compared with multi‐2D breath‐hold and 3D free‐breathing approaches. Results Our 3D three‐point Dixon self‐navigated sequence could correct for respiratory‐motion artifacts and provided more precise FF measurements than breath‐hold multi‐2D and 3D free‐breathing techniques. Conclusion Our 3D respiratory self‐gating fat quantification sequence could correct for respiratory motion artifacts and yield more‐precise FF measurements. Magn Reson Med 76:1400–1409, 2016. © 2015 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine