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Research progress in quantitative susceptibility mapping MRI in spinal diseases
GONG Fangdi  QIAO Cui  LU Dongmei  YAO Hongyan  WANG Ping  LU Yan  ZHOU Sheng 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.02.028.


[Abstract] Spinal disorders, characterized by their high incidence, significant disability rates, and substantial economic burden, have emerged as a major global public health challenge. Accurate diagnosis and early assessment are crucial for improving patient outcomes, yet conventional imaging techniques have limitations in revealing subtle biochemical changes in tissues. Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), an emerging non-invasive magnetic resonance technology, enables quantitative measurement of tissue magnetic susceptibility and can sensitively detect changes in paramagnetic substances such as iron and calcium. This offers a novel perspective for evaluating micro-pathological alterations in spinal diseases. However, there is currently a lack of systematic reviews on the application progress of QSM across various spinal disorders. This article aims to systematically outline the imaging principles of QSM and key post-processing techniques for spinal QSM. It will summarize research advances and application potential in spinal degenerative diseases, osteoporosis, muscular fatty infiltration, spinal trauma, and inflammatory conditions. The challenges faced by QSM in spinal imaging will be analyzed, and future directions will be explored, including sequence optimization, disease-specific extensions, multimodal integration, and artificial intelligence-assisted applications. The review is intended to provide new insights for the precise diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders.
[Keywords] spinal diseases；magnetic resonance imaging；quantitative susceptibility mapping；quantitative analysis

GONG Fangdi1   QIAO Cui1   LU Dongmei2   YAO Hongyan2   WANG Ping2   LU Yan1, 3   ZHOU Sheng1, 2*  

1 First Clinical Medical College of Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou 730000, China

2 Department of Radiology, Gansu Provincial People's Hospital, Lanzhou 730000, China

3 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Gansu Provincial People's Hospital, Lanzhou 730000, China

Corresponding author: ZHOU S, E-mail:15002591656 lzzs@sina.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-10-30
Accepted  2026-01-07
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.02.028
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.02.028.

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