Validation of a DIXON-based fat quantification technique for the measurement of visceral fat using a CT-based reference standard
- University of Michigan Medical School (United States)
- Michigan Medicine, Department of Radiology (United States)
- Michigan Medicine, Morphomics Analysis Group (United States)
Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine whether a novel semi-automated DIXON-based fat quantification algorithm can reliably quantify visceral fat using a CT-based reference standard. Methods: This was an IRB-approved retrospective cohort study of 27 subjects who underwent abdominopelvic CT within 7 days of proton density fat fraction (PDFF) mapping on a 1.5T MRI. Cross-sectional visceral fat area per slice (cm{sup 2}) was measured in blinded fashion in each modality at intervertebral disc levels from T12 to L4. CT estimates were obtained using a previously published semi-automated computational image processing system that sums pixels with attenuation − 205 to − 51 HU. MR estimates were obtained using two novel semi-automated DIXON-based fat quantification algorithms that measure visceral fat area by spatially regularizing non-uniform fat-only signal intensity or de-speckling PDFF 2D images and summing pixels with PDFF ≥ 50%. Pearson’s correlations and Bland–Altman analyses were performed. Results: Visceral fat area per slice ranged from 9.2 to 429.8 cm{sup 2} for MR and from 1.6 to 405.5 cm{sup 2} for CT. There was a strong correlation between CT and MR methods in measured visceral fat area across all studied vertebral body levels (r = 0.97; n = 101 observations); the least (r = 0.93) correlation was at T12. Bland–Altman analysis revealed a bias of 31.7 cm{sup 2} (95% CI [− 27.1]–90.4 cm{sup 2}), indicating modestly higher visceral fat assessed by MR. Conclusion: MR- and CT-based visceral fat quantification are highly correlated and have good cross-modality reliability, indicating that visceral fat quantification by either method can yield a stable and reliable biomarker.
- OSTI ID:
- 22923184
- Journal Information:
- Abdominal Radiology (Online), Vol. 44, Issue 1; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2019 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2366-0058
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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