Liver fat quantification in photon counting CT in head to head comparison with clinical MRI - First experience

Abstract

Purpose: To compare liver fat quantification between MRI and photon-counting CT (PCCT).

Method: A cylindrical phantom with inserts containing six concentrations of oil (0, 10, 20, 30, 50 and 100%) and oil-iodine mixtures (0, 10, 20, 30 and 50% fat +3 mg/mL iodine) was imaged with a PCCT (NAEOTOM Alpha) and a 1.5 T MRI system (MR 450w, IDEAL-IQ sequence), using clinical parameters. An IRB-approved prospective clinical evaluation included 12 obese adult patients with known fatty liver disease (seven women, mean age: 61.5 ± 13 years, mean BMI: 30.3 ± 4.7 kg/m²). Patients underwent a same-day clinical MRI and PCCT of the abdomen. Liver fat fractions were calculated for four segments (I, II, IVa and VII) using in- and opposed-phase on MRI ((Mean_in - Mean_opp)/2*Mean_in) and iodine-fat, tissue decomposition analysis in PCCT (Syngo.Via VB60A). CT and MRI Fat fractions were compared using two-sample t-tests with equal variance. Statistical analysis was performed using RStudio (Version1.4.1717).

Results: Phantom results showed no significant differences between the known fat fractions (P = 0.32) or iodine (P = 0.6) in comparison to PCCT-measured concentrations, and no statistically significant difference between known and MRI-measured fat fractions (P = 0.363). In patients, the mean fat signal fraction measured on MRI and PCCT was 13.1 ± 9.9% and 12.0 ± 9.0%, respectively, with an average difference of 1.1 ± 1.9% between the modalities (P = 0.138).

Conclusion: First experience shows promising accuracy of liver fat fraction quantification for PCCT in obese patients. This method may improve opportunistic screening for CT in the future.

Keywords: Computed tomography; Hepatic steatosis; Magnetic resonance imaging; Photon counting; Quantification.