Multiparametric MRI Liver and Pancreas Protocol

MRI scans were performed using a Siemens Aera 1.5‐T scanner (Siemens AG, Munich, Germany). For the liver, a single transverse section positioned at the porta hepatis was selected. A Shortened Modified Look‐Locker Inversion and a multiecho‐spoiled gradient echo sequence was performed to quantify liver T1 and iron/fat, respectively. The full liver imaging protocol has been detailed elsewhere (13 (link), 19 (link)). Abdominal water‐ and fat‐separated images were obtained from the two‐point Dixon protocol. This imaging protocol results in a series of consecutive “slabs,” each comprising a contiguous set of sections. The contrasts and brightness of the slabs were adjusted automatically prior to processing the entire acquired volume. PDFF maps of the pancreas were reconstructed from the dedicated pancreas gradient‐recalled echo (GRE) 10‐echo acquisition (echo time [TE]₁ = 2.38 milliseconds, ΔTE = 2.38 milliseconds) using a magnitude‐based multipoint water‐fat separation algorithm (20 (link)).