This will be the first ISMRM-sponsored workshop on fat-water MRI. Research in diseases that involve abnormal fat accumulation in organs, muscles, and various body depots has increased significantly in recent years, motivated partly by the rising prevalence of obesity worldwide. Over the last decade, algorithms that robustly suppress fat and those designed to accurately separate fat and water based on chemical-shift MRI have been developed, as interest in fat-water separation methods grows significantly.

The purpose of this workshop is to bring together internationally-recognized clinicians and researchers to review insights, progress, and findings in fat suppression and fat-water MRI over the past 30 years. It will cover the latest discoveries in qualitative fat-water separation and quantitative fat methodologies. Attendees will collectively identify unsolved challenges and applications that need to be further addressed, as well as discuss appropriate validation techniques, implementation considerations, and the consistent use and reporting of methodology and fat metrics in literature. The workshop will integrate educational presentations encompassing a wide array of technical and clinical topics. A poster session will promote interaction amongst young and established investigators. Moderated sessions will comprehensively cover mathematical theory, performance limits, and data reconstruction algorithms of fat-water imaging, as well as highlight new diagnostic applications and future research opportunities.