Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques in Bone Marrow Assessment
Summary
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become integral to the non-invasive evaluation of bone marrow, offering both anatomical and functional insights into marrow composition and pathology. Conventional T1- and T2-weighted sequences provide high soft-tissue contrast, enabling visualisation of marrow cellularity and fat content. Fat-suppression methods, including chemical shift imaging and Dixon-based approaches, enhance detection of focal lesions by exploiting differences between water and fat signals. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) further permits quantification of tissue microstructure via the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), which correlates inversely with cellular density. Combined multiparametric protocols allow differentiation of benign from malignant processes, monitoring of haematological malignancies and assessment of marrow involvement in systemic conditions. Advances in quantitative metrics, such as proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and in-phase/opposed-phase signal ratios, have bolstered diagnostic accuracy, reduced reliance on biopsy and informed treatment planning in both oncology and benign marrow disorders.
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques in Bone Marrow Assessment publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in magnetic resonance imaging techniques in bone marrow assessment across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI): An MRI sequence sensitive to the random motion of water molecules, used to infer tissue cellularity and integrity.
Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC): A quantitative metric derived from DWI that reflects the degree of water diffusion within tissue.
Chemical shift imaging (CSI): A fat-suppression technique that separates water and fat signals based on their slight difference in resonance frequency.
Proton density fat fraction (PDFF): A quantitative measure of fat content in tissue obtained from chemical-shift–encoded MRI sequences.
Dixon technique: An MRI method that acquires in-phase and opposed-phase images to generate water-only and fat-only contrasts for improved lesion characterisation.
References
- Diagnostic Accuracy of Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers in the Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Vertebral Lesions. Clinical Neuroradiology (2021).
- T2-weighted Dixon MRI of the spine: A feasibility study of quantitative vertebral bone marrow analysis. Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging (2021).
- Predictive Models in Differentiating Vertebral Lesions Using Multiparametric MRI. American Journal of Neuroradiology (2017).
- Multi-Parametric Whole Body MRI before and after Bone Marrow Transplantation in Patients with Multiple Myeloma. International Journal of Radiology and Imaging Technology (2023).
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