An empirical approach to determine water T1 from multiparametric MR images of the liver

This work focuses on an empirical approach to determine water T1 from multiparametric MR images, including T1, PDFF and T2* maps. To this end, a multiple linear regression model was fit to describe the deviation in MOLLI T1 based on PDFF and T2* values, which were measured in phantoms built at increasing lipids and iron content. This method was validated on a cohort of healthy volunteers and diabetes subjects (n=45). Further investigations were conducted to elucidate the relationship between MOLLI T1 values, before and after correction for hepatic lipid and iron content, and liver stiffness measured by MR elastography.