Clark, John W., Jr.2013-09-162013-09-162013-09-162013-09-162013-052013-09-16May 2013Rambow, Olen. "Direct Water and Fat Determination in Two-Point Dixon Imaging." (2013) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/72028">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/72028</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/72028The Dixon technique is a well-established method in magnetic resonance imaging for obtaining separate images of water and fat. Here we present a generalized solution to the two-point Dixon problem with a geometric interpretation, allowing for flexible echo times and a multi-peak fat model. By simulation and experiment, we have analyzed the dependence on the echo times of the error in the water, fat, and relative background phasor values due to both signal noise and T2* decay. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that broken symmetry due to the multi-peak nature of fat enables direct water and fat determination without phase correction, and we have quantified the reliability of this technique as a function of the echo times. The results may provide valuable guidance for selecting scan parameters to balance the objectives of optimizing fat-water identification, minimizing error in the pixel values, and minimizing total scan time.application/pdfengCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)Dixon imagingMultipeak fat modelFat and water imagingDual echoFlexible echo timesMedical imagingThesis2013-09-16123456789/ETD-2013-05-498