Accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of water-fat magnetic resonance imaging in a phantom and healthy volunteer

Bone marrow (BM) damage due to chemoradiotherapy can increase BM fat in cervical cancer patients. Water-fat magnetic resonance (MR) scans were performed on a phantom and a healthy female volunteer to validate proton density fat fraction accuracy, reproducibility, and repeatability across different vendors, field strengths, and protocols. Phantom measurements showed a high accuracy, high repeatability, and excellent reproducibility. Volunteer measurements had an excellent intra- and interreader reliability, good repeatability, and moderate to good reproducibility. Water-fat MRI show potential for quantification of longitudinal vertebral BM fat changes. Further studies are needed to validate and extend these findings for broader clinical applicability.