Whole-body T1 mapping improves the definition of adipose tissue: Consequences for automated image analysis
✍ Scribed by Joel Kullberg; Jan-Erik Angelhed; Lars Lönn; John Brandberg; Håkan Ahlström; Hans Frimmel; Lars Johansson
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2006
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 479 KB
- Volume
- 24
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1053-1807
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Purpose
To determine whether a whole‐body T1‐mapping acquisition method improves the definition of adipose tissue (AT) and simplifies automated AT segmentation compared to an image‐based method.
Materials and Methods
The study included 10 subjects. Two whole‐body volumes were acquired from each subject using two different flip angles. Whole‐body T1 maps were calculated from each pair of whole‐body volumes. AT was automatically segmented from the T1 maps and from the original image slices. The results were evaluated using manually segmented slices as reference.
Results
The T1‐mapping method segmented more of the reference AT than the image‐based method, with mean values (standard deviations (SDs)) of 87.7(5.1)% and 81.1(5.2)%, respectively. Compared to the image‐based method, the T1‐mapping method gives better histogram separation of AT in whole‐body volumes. The suggested method also provides an output with smaller in‐slice AT intensity variations.
Conclusion
The T1‐mapping method improves the definition of AT. T1‐based analysis is superior to analysis based on the original images, and allows fully automated and accurate whole‐body AT segmentation. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.