Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping for Staging Acute Cerebral Hemorrhages: Comparing the Conventional and Multiecho Complex Total Field Inversion magnetic resonance imaging MR Methods

BACKGROUND The perceived acuity of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) impacts the management of patients, both within emergent and outpatient/urgent settings. Morphology enabled dipole inversion (MEDI) quantitative susceptibility imaging (QSM) has improved characterization of ICH acuity, despite outstanding limitations in distinguishing blood products. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS Using improved susceptibility quantification, novel postprocessing QSM method from multiecho complex total field inversion (mcTFI) may better discriminate between acute and subacute ICH, compared to MEDI. STUDY TYPE Retrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS A total of 121 subjects enrolled following positive computerized tomography (CT) findings for ICH. Subjects were grouped based on time between admission and MR imaging: hyperacute (