ASSESSMENT OF THE MAGNETIC-FIELD DISTRIBUTION IN YELLOW AND RED BONE-MARROW BY THE MAGSUS TECHNIQUE

The MAGSUS imaging technique has been shown to provide insights into t he distribution of the macroscopic and microscopic static magnetic fie ld without requiring further data processing. Applications of the MAGS US technique on bone marrow are reported in more detail in this articl e. Effects of the superposition of water and lipid signals and of cons iderable transverse relaxation on MAGSUS imaging are demonstrated, and adapted imaging parameters are presented. Examples of applications on marrow with different physiological and pathological compositions and different locations are shown. Appropriate adjustments for a reliable estimation of the trabecular density in peripheral yellow marrow and for an assessment of the field distribution in hemopoietic red marrow are reported. Osteoporotic peripheral marrow with reduced amount of tr abecular structures and alterations due to osteodystrophia deformans c an be simply revealed by this method. An estimation of the trabecular density can also be performed by MAGSUS in vertebral bodies of hematol ogically unaffected persons, but the interindividually differing amoun t of paramagnetic depositions in the marrow (e.g., hemosiderin) must b e taken into account.