The work in this thesis examines the potential of using magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI & MRS) as a quantitative tool for diagnosing bone abnormalities at multiple skeletal sites, which could be used in conjunction with routine clinical imaging.MRI and MRS are routinely used in the clinical setting for the diagnosis of various types of diseases and abnormalities due to its advantages of providing excellent soft tissue contrast and also providing physiological and metabolic information. The use of MRI and MRS as a direct diagnostic tool for bone abnormalities is very limited at the moment due to issues of costs and standardisation. The aim in this thesis was to use the clinical 3.0 T MR scanner to acquire data from bone and bone marrow for identification of structural and chemical properties and to use those features to identify differences in bone strength and condition. The volunteers in this thesis were part of the high bone mass (HBM) study and they had additional acquisitions from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT).MR acquisition protocols have been successfully optimised for each type of bone region and in-house software has also been created to process the acquired data and quantify various types of structural and chemical properties.The MR data from distal radius and tibia demonstrated good correlation with pQCT data (e.g. Figure 8-2 & Figure 8-3) and were also able to differentiate between HBM-affected and control populations (e.g. Figure 8-26). The MR data from lumbar vertebrae also demonstrated good correlation with DEXA data and some of the measurements were also able to differentiate between the HBM-affected and control populations.The combined results from this thesis demonstrate that both MRI and MRS are sensitive techniques for measurement of bone quantity and quality, and they are ready to be applied for clinical investigation as part of routine clinical imaging to identify bone strength in relation to abnormalities and treatments
