Study on the Equation Between Liver MRI T2* Values and Liver Iron Concentration in Thalassemia Patients

Abstract Background: The liver iron concentration (LICF) provided by FerriScan is already certified. But there are some restrictive factors. Therefore, we explored the relationship curves of LICF and MRI liver T2 *, and constructed the equations for both. Methods: Liver MRI T2* values of 273 thalassemia patients were measured by CMRtools/Thalassemia Tools (CMRtools) and divided into test and verification groups. The T2* values of the test group and LICF were used to build the equation, through which the T2* values of the validation group were converted to the liver iron concentration（LICe）. The relationship between LICe and LICF was explored. According to the clinical liver iron concentration grading, LICF and LICe were grouped to explore the relationship between the them in the validation group. Results: The equation built by the test group was LICF=37.393T2*^(-1.22)（R2=0.971，P＜0.05）. There was no statistical difference between LICe and LICF in the validation group（P＞0.05）; There was significant consistency（W=0.991, P＜0.05）and significant correlation（rs=0.983，P＜0.05） between them .There was no statistical difference in the clinical grading between LICe and LICF in the validation group （P＞0.05）. There was significant consistency between the clinical grading results（K=0.943，P＜0.05. Conclusion: Through the equation LICF=37.393T2*^(-1.22), after measuring the liver T2* value, the liver iron concentration (LIC) equivalent to LICF can be accurately calculated.