Reliability of measuring the fat content of the lumbar vertebral marrow and paraspinal muscles using MRI mDIXON-quant sequence

PURPOSE We aimed to assess the reliability of measuring the fat content of the lumbar vertebral marrow and the paraspinal muscles using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) mDIXON-Quant sequence. METHODS Thirty-one healthy volunteers were included. All participants underwent liver mDIXON-Quant imaging on a 3.0 T Philips MRI scanner by observer A. Within two weeks, observer B repeated the scan. After the examination, each observer independently measured the fat content of the third lumbar vertebra (L3), and the psoas (PS), erector spinae (ES), and multifidus (MF) muscles on central L3 axial images. After two weeks, each observer repeated the same measurements. They were blinded to their previous…