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Quantitative MRI of diffuse liver diseases: techniques and tissue-mimicking phantoms

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Abstract

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques are emerging as non-invasive alternatives to biopsy for assessment of diffuse liver diseases of iron overload, steatosis and fibrosis. For testing and validating the accuracy of these techniques, phantoms are often used as stand-ins to human tissue to mimic diffuse liver pathologies. However, currently, there is no standardization in the preparation of MRI-based liver phantoms for mimicking iron overload, steatosis, fibrosis or a combination of these pathologies as various sizes and types of materials are used to mimic the same liver disease. Liver phantoms that mimic specific MR features of diffuse liver diseases observed in vivo are important for testing and calibrating new MRI techniques and for evaluating signal models to accurately quantify these features. In this study, we review the liver morphology associated with these diffuse diseases, discuss the quantitative MR techniques for assessing these liver pathologies, and comprehensively examine published liver phantom studies and discuss their benefits and limitations.

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Data availability statement

Phantom data presented as figures in this review article are available upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Joseph Holtrop for assisting with the acquisition of stiffness maps for the magnetic resonance elastography phantoms. The authors also thank Dr. Vani Shanker for scientific editing.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R21EB031298.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

    Aaryani Tipirneni-Sajja, Sarah Brasher, Utsav Shrestha & Hayden Johnson

  2. Department of Diagnostic Imaging, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA

    Aaryani Tipirneni-Sajja & Cara Morin

  3. Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Cara Morin

  4. Northwell Health Center for Liver Diseases and Transplantation, Northshore University Hospital/Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY, USA

    Sanjaya K. Satapathy

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  1. Aaryani Tipirneni-Sajja
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Tipirneni-Sajja, A., Brasher, S., Shrestha, U. et al. Quantitative MRI of diffuse liver diseases: techniques and tissue-mimicking phantoms. Magn Reson Mater Phy 36, 529–551 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-022-01053-z

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