Vertebral bone marrow T2* mapping using chemical shift encoding-based water-fat separation in the quantitative analysis of lumbar osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures

Abstract

T2* mapping of vertebral bone marrow using using chemical shift encoding-based water-fat separation allows for assessing osteoporosis as well as the trabecular microstructure and enables a radiation-free differentiation between patients with low-energy osteoporotic and high-energy traumatic vertebral fractures, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for bone fragility.